AirAsia Philippines operates a special seafarers’ repatriation flight between Manila and Mattala

AirAsia Philippines (Z2) marked its first flight to Sri Lanka over the weekend on a ship crew exchange mission to repatriate Filipino seafarers. This is also considered the first ever charter flight launched by the AirAsia group to Sri Lanka in support of the repatriation efforts.

Since the COVID-19 pandemic has been controlled within the country, Sri Lanka has been able to come to the aid of the international shipping community; by being a safe location for facilitating the change of ship crew, which is critical for the safe operation of ships. In light of this opportunity, Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport – the largest international airport serving Southeast Sri Lanka, is poised to become a hub for international ship crew changes.

The chartered flight departed from Manila with 11 international seafarers for the exchange at 10:24 am (local time) on 9 August and arrived at Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport at 1:25 pm (local time) on the same day. Flight Z2 8161 departed from Sri Lanka with 14 Filipino seafarers on 10 August at 8:21 am (local time). 

This initiative was a result of the collaborative efforts of Mack Air – the GSA in Sri Lanka for AirAsia and Ceyline Group, put forward in order to assist the repatriation of international seafarers of different nationalities.

Mack Air Chief Executive Officer Anil Bandara said, “This is the first time AirAsia has operated a charter flight to Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport. With our experience in global representations in the aviation industry spanning over 40 years and the team of experts, it was an absolute pleasure to oversee this operation.”

“We are proud to pledge our commitment to enable safe travel for seafarers awaiting repatriation, amidst the global Covid-19 pandemic-induced travel restrictions.”

AirAsia Philippines has mounted nearly 400 special recovery and cargo flights since 16 March, flying over 25,000 passengers and over 600,000 kilograms of cargo to nearly 30 domestic and international destinations. 

These special recovery flights are in response to requests from various organisations, including local and international government agencies. AirAsia assures that the safety and wellbeing of guests and Allstars is the top priority. AirAsia is duly complying with advice and regulations from the local government, civil aviation authorities, global and local health agencies, including the World Health Organisation.

“Ceyline Group being the most diversified Marine Services Group in Sri Lanka, took the leadership in obtaining the Government’s support to make Port of Galle a crew change hub in the region. By joining hands with Mack Air, Ceyline is able to connect our crew change hub to the largest seafarer population in the world, the Philippines which occupies 60% of the global seafarer market. This successful first flight marks the commencement of a regular service from Mattala to the Philippines,” Ceyline Group Director Mevan Peiris noted.