SriLankan CEO plays Trump on alleged  fake news

Like US President Donald Trump, SriLankan Airlines Chief Executive Officer Suren Ratwatte, has chosen to dub a “number of articles in the mainstream print media” as ‘fake news.’ No wonder many see a similarity between the two. Accusing sections of the media of carrying “inaccurate information about the airline, its performance and speculating” on its future, he cites “some relevant examples:”

n The article in one of the daily newspapers that claimed the SLA Board and/or Management decided to close the runway at VCBI during daytime for resurfacing, when in fact we strenuously objected to a daytime closure.

n The headline in another popular English language daily, that a major international financial institution was extending a USD 200M loan to the Company. We have confirmation from the bank in question that no such credit facility has been requested or extended to the airline.

n The same daily last week stated that there is a “USD 200M Bailout” for the airline. Neither the management nor the Official’s Committee has been informed of any such development.

The former Emirate Airlines pilot’s expert views on the media are contained in a “message” he sent to the Airline Pilots’ Guild of Sri Lanka (APGSL). Speaking on behalf of the management (where the resignation of five members of the Board of Directors has been accepted this week), Mr Ratwatte claims, “The management is of the view that some of these articles are deliberate plants, with malicious intent to cause distress and alarm or conversely, false hope, among our staff.”

An APGSL member, who did not wish to be identified, declared “the whole country knows the deepening crisis faced by our national carrier. Hence, no amount of passing judgements on news reports that do not suit them would help. The ploy is too transparent.”

The reason for sending out the “message,” the CEO points out, is “to warn our team members about this worldwide trend of deliberately incorrect information (fake news) and the damage it can do.” He goes on to say; “Our company is about to embark on what is going to be a very challenging period of restructuring. An “interim” Board of Directors will be appointed soon, to drive the restructuring process expeditiously.” This media feeding frenzy, which is the real fake news, has been going on for the past two and half years, he says