Srilankan airlines losses around USD 7 million each month due to difficulties the airline faces in obtaining aviation fuel, said aviation industry specialist and current Chief Commercial Officer (CCO) SriLankan Richard Nuttall.
Speaking on the sidelines of a news briefing held on SriLankan being the official partner Sri Lankan Masters Hockey team bound for the 2022 World Cup in England at Sri Lanka Tourism yesterday he said that they had also encouraged in converting crude oil to jet fuel but this was now halted. The airline now has to re-fuel in other destinations and this has become an additional expense to the airline.
Due to the aircraft belly ‘being full’ after refueling in other destinations the aircraft cannot operate full cargo capacity and this too is affecting our revenue. “During the COVID pandemic some aircraft were not flying and now three engines have to be overhauled which are now sent overseas. We expect them to be ready soon and when they arrive the airline will be able to operate all our 24 aircraft.”
This airline engine overhaul issue is not only affecting Srilankan but is a global scenario.”
Asked the reason for high air ticket cost he said it’s due to several factors and this too is common to all airlines. “Lot of people did not fly during the C-19 pandemic and now they are all flying and this has increased the demand while globally many aircraft are being overhauled resulting in reduction of aircraft.
Asked to comment on the restricting process of SriLankan spelt out by President Ranil Wickremesinghe he said that they are looking at options.
“We are working closely with the line Ministry in this regard.” Commenting on their sponsorship he said that it’s a good niche place to market Sri Lanka and tourism. “We see value in this partnership and the first time we are patterning the Masters Hockey team.”
Meanwhile asked if Sri Lanka would be able to host the World Masters Hockey Championship in Sri Lanka President Sri Lanka Masters Hockey Association Fauzul Hameed said that Sri Lanka needs to upgrade infrastructure and have at least two synthetic playing turfs before bidding for the event.
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