SriLankan discontinuing flts to Beijing from next week
SriLankan Airlines is currently in a crisis with the increasing number of breakdown and faults due to technical issues as the airline faces a serious concern with more and more technical officers and pilots continuing to leave.
Commenting on the airline’s current concerns as the carrier faced several setbacks due to delays and technical issues on its aircraft, SriLankan Airlines Chairman Asok Pathirage told the Business Times that they are expecting three aircraft by April and discussions are still on to procure six A330 aircraft.
He noted that while the three aircraft are due next month the rest need to go through the tender process to be procured.
Mr. Pathirage noted that the airline’s problems of technical personnel leaving the airline is not something unique and are “problems that everybody has” and that under the circumstances they are managing the situation.
In 2023 there was 98 technical staff that includes pilots and technicians that has left the airline as a result of which the carrier is currently in the process of recruiting more.
Mr. Pathirage noted that they are currently managing the number of destinations they operate to by reducing it.
“We have reduced the number of destinations the airline is flying to and we will increase it once the aircraft are available,” he said.
The national carrier stopped its services to Muscat, Oman and will be suspending its services to Beijing, China from next week, the airline said.
SriLankan Airlines on March 19 issued a statement on the flight delay of UL 470 schedued for Incheon, South Korea that due to a “technical issue” and which lasted approximately 13 hours from the originally planned departure time.
In this respect they took measures by collaborating with the Human Resources Development Service of Korea and the Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment and rebooked passengers for a flight on Sunday March 24 and ensured their employment commitments in South Korea remain unaffected by the delay.
It was reported that SriLankan Airlines UL 207 to Abu Dhabi, UL 263 to Dammam and UL 149 to Mumbai were cancelled on February 27. Meanwhile flights U 470 to Inceon, UL 265 to Riyadh, UL 225 to Dubai and UL 103 to Male was delayed until further notice the same day.
Moreover, some ground handling staff had also contributed to the delay with 15 being absent and 12 not reporting for work. However, the airline noted that this was due to a “temporary, unplanned operational conditions at the airport and not due to any type of trade union action.”
The government has been planning on bringing in new investors to run the operations of the national carrier as it has been in continuous debt.
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