Cabinet nod for Presidential Committee recommendations on SriLankan Airlines

Cabinet this week gave approval to implement recommendations made by the Committee of Experts on restructuring of SriLankan Airlines, headed by the State Finance Minister Eran Wickramaratne, an Information Department Statement said. 

The proposal made by President Maithripala Sirisena, who appointed the Committee to explore ways to revamp the struggling airline, outlined recommendations given by the twelve-member Committee in January. 

The Committee has presented recommendations on restructuring of the airline in terms of financial and institutional levels, the statement said. Recommendations were also made on developing an effective strategic plan and a business operating model, restructuring of human resources, developing an independent procurement process, brand promotion and exploitation activities. 

The National carrier accumulated operational losses of Rs. 145 billion from 2012 to 2017, which is significantly higher than the Rs. 74 billion lost by the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB), Rs. 42 billion lost by Ceylon Petroleum Corporation, and Rs. 29 billion lost by the Sri Lanka Transport Board (SLTB) during the same period. Overall losses of SriLankan were estimated to be in the range of $900 million to $1 billion, with losses for the 2017/2018 financial year alone amounting to about $185 million.