Retirement of a legend in civil aviation regulation in Sri Lanka

The Civil Aviation Authority of Sri Lanka would like to notify the aviation industry and the members of the public of the retirement of H.M.C. Nimalsiri from the post of Director General of Civil Aviation/Chief Executive Officer of the Civil Aviation Authority of Sri Lanka on 6 April.

Nimalsiri could be described as a legend in the history of civil aviation regulatory activities in Sri Lanka for the yeoman service he has rendered to the country and the aviation industry for well over three decades. 

Having joined the Department of Civil Aviation in 1987 as Assistant Director, he rose to the post of Director General of Civil Aviation in 2002 upon his appointment by the Cabinet of Ministers. He was the catalyst behind the establishment of the Civil Aviation Authority of Sri Lanka which replaced the Department of Civil Aviation in 2002 and aptly he was appointed as its first Director General of Civil Aviation/CEO. 

During his tenure two important Acts of Parliament, the Civil Aviation Authority of Sri Lanka Act No. 34 of 2002 and the Civil Aviation Act No. 14 of 2010 were enacted which helped to establish a new legislative regime in keeping with the fast-developing global aviation industry. Other subsidiary legislation and rules where his signature is imprinted upon are too many to mention.    

A very important role of the Director General of Civil Aviation is to ensure that Sri Lanka implements Standards and Recommended practices (SARPS) stipulated by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) as a contracting state to the Convention on International Civil Aviation (popularly known as the Chicago Convention). In this respect his leadership enabled Sri Lanka to demonstrate over 87% of effective implementation of ICAO SARPS in the Sri Lanka Aviation Industry at both Safety and Security Audits conducted by ICAO in 2010 and 2012 respectively by systematically organising, improving and maintaining of State Safety and Security Oversight systems. 

In 2018 Sri Lanka achieved 88% compliance at the Safety Audit Conducted by ICAO due to his leadership. Thus, consistently Sri Lanka has ranked as the no. 1 state in terms of safety and security oversight in the South Asian region whilst also emerging among the top states in the Asia Pacific Region due to his dedication. 

During his tenure, the Civil Aviation Authority of Sri Lanka hosted two important International Aviation conferences. In August 2016 the Directors General of Civil Aviation Conference of the Asia Pacific region and in December 2017 the ICAO Conference on Air Services Negotiations (ICAN) were hosted bringing immense glory to his motherland. These were all possible due to his excellent organisational skills and meticulous planning that resulted in the two conferences being executed with excellence resulting in much admiration and appreciation by ICAO and the attending local and foreign delegates. 

From 2007 to 2010 he had the privilege of working for ICAO as the Regional Program Coordinator of the Cooperative Development of Operational Safety and Continuing Airworthiness Program-South Asia (COSCAP-SA) becoming the first Sri Lankan to hold such a distinguished position bringing credit to his motherland and the Authority. Due to his extensive knowledge and vast experience on Civil Aviation Regulation and Civil Aviation Policy development he is often invited as a guest speaker at local, regional and international forums. 

When the European Union was planning to set up their project offices for its aviation-related initiatives in the South Asia region, Sri Lanka became an obvious choice due to the keenness shown by Nimalsiri to invite them without any hesitation as he knew that such an opportunity would result in abundant benefits to Aviation professionals in Sri Lanka and the industry. Accordingly, during his tenure, the European Union South Asia (EU-SA) project office and the European Aviation Safety Agency’s Aviation Partnership Project (EU-APP) offices were established in Sri Lanka in 2004 and 2018 respectively resulting in immense benefits to the local industry personnel through the transfer of knowledge and expertise.     

It is really amazing how one individual could be capable of gathering and retaining such vast amounts of aviation-related data which helped him to build a lasting reputation in the Aviation industry around the globe. What I gathered during my interaction with him is that Nimalsiri was instrumental in creating almost every aviation-related form, airline and aviation related policy during the last 30 years or so and brought Sri Lanka’s aviation industry to the great standing it enjoys among SAARC countries resulting in international recognition. 

I have only had the opportunity to work with Director General Nimalsiri for a very short period from mid-January to the end of March this year and have great respect for his professionalism and industry knowledge. He is considered an institution in the Aviation industry and in the few months I worked with him I realised why. Undoubtedly, a fountain of knowledge.

Whilst his achievements and contributions to the industry are too numerous to mention, the Civil Aviation Authority of Sri Lanka and its staff will always be grateful for the iconic state-of-the-art head office building that was completed in 2018 under his able leadership. This building will stand tall as a symbol of his legacy. 

When the time came for retirement, he was in a position to hand over his duties in an orderly manner. The Civil Aviation Authority of Sri Lanka and the Aviation Industry is forever indebted to him for his contribution to the Sri Lanka aviation industry.

On behalf of the Civil Aviation Authority of Sri Lanka, I wish Nimalsiri a very happy retirement. May he enjoy the golden age with his family and I look forward to meeting and keep learning from the aviation guru.

Upul Dharmadasa

Chairman

Civil Aviation Authority of Sri Lanka