SriLankan Airlines, during April 1, 2023 and March 31, 2024, was forced to cancel more than 1000 flights (10 per cent of the scheduled flights) which cost more than US$60 million, its chairman Asoka Pathirage said.
Presenting his statement in the company’s annual report for 2023/24, he said this was due to the fleet availability which was made worse by the increased time required to complete required maintenance checks on aircraft as a result of global component shortages, and maintenance issues of engines for Airbus A320/321 Neo aircraft in the global marketplace.
During the period under review, revenue of the group (airline and subsidiaries) was Rs. 339 billion against Rs. 369 billion in 2022/23 while profit (operating) was Rs. 8 billion vs a loss of Rs. 71 billion. Under equity and liabilities, the accumulated loss was Rs.382 billion vs Rs.494 billion.
CEO Richard Nuttall said that during COVID-19, many people left the industry and training programmes also ceased. As a result, there were labour shortages, specifically a shortage of pilots, engineering staff, cabin crew, and ground staff posing significant impediments to the industry’s operational capacity and growth potential.
He said the environment to restore their fleet is challenging as most lessors are wary of SriLankan Airlines’ financial situation, and the financial situation of the country. “They would rather lease aircraft to other carriers with less perceived financial risk,” he said.
Source: Sunday Times
