SriLankan does its own ground handling in India

SriLankan Airlines now handles its own ground operations at four airports in India, the airline said. The familiar colours and logo of Sri Lanka’s National Carrier are now regular features on vehicles and ground service equipment at airports in Chennai, Trichy, Coimbatore, and Goa, it said.

SriLankan Airlines’ Chief Executive Officer, Manoj Gunawardena was quoted as saying that, “Benefits from this initiative are two fold, it increases our level of customer service and it also brings in significant cost savings to the operation.” SriLankan has 33 flights to these four destinations – 15 to Chennai, 11 to Trichy, four to Coimbatore, and three to Goa. Chennai is one of SriLankan’s busiest destinations in the airline’s route network.

Nalini Fernando, who as Regional Airport Service Manager- India spearheaded the project, said: “Our decision to self-handle at selected Indian airports was undertaken towards reducing heavy operational costs and branding of SriLankan at Indian airports in a highly competitive market.”