SriLankan Airlines to hire 80 new pilots

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National carrier SriLankan Airlines CEO Richard Nuttal said on Wednesday they will be recruiting 80 pilots as they face a dearth of required personnel to man their aircraft.

The airline will be looking at recruiting 30 pilots this year and another 50 by mid next year, the CEO said when talking to journalists on the sidelines of a workshop held for the media at the airline's Aviation College in Katunayake.

Mr. Nuttal said that they were facing concerns due to the large number of pilots leaving the airline.
He noted that they are facing a "tight" situation due to the exodus of airline personnel.

In a worst case scenario the airline's CEO said they will have to cancel flights as well.

SriLankan Airlines has lost about 50-60 pilots within the past 10-12 months.

Currently there are 143 captains that includes 3 females; 83 First Officers; 26 Junior First Officers; and 14 Cadet Pilots.

The airline is said to have about 30 female pilots. (SD)