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National carrier – SriLankan Airlines’ recent technical struggles and measures taken to rectify the situation amidst the worst economic crisis came under the spotlight yesterday at a high-level meeting involving the Government and the top officials of the airline.
The progress and challenges of SriLankan Airlines thus far in this regard were discussed at a special meeting chaired by Ports, Shipping and Aviation Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva yesterday.
SriLankan Airlines CEO Richard Nuttall, Ministry Secretary K.D.S. Ruwanchandra, officials of the Civil Aviation Authority of Sri Lanka, Airport and Aviation Services (Sri Lanka) Ltd., SriLankan Airlines top management, and its Engineering Department officials also attended the special meeting.
A statement from the Minister’s Media Office said the facts revealed following the technical difficulty faced by the national carrier flight from Melbourne to Colombo was due to a constant error which appeared in the computer system of the plane, which caused the aircraft to be held at the Melbourne Airport causing over a 30-hour delay.
On 16 April, the departure of SriLankan Airlines flight UL 605 was delayed in Melbourne, Australia for 30 hours due to a mechanical failure, and arrived in Colombo the next day after six engineers of the airline had left for Melbourne Airport to rectify the fault.
Minister de Silva said that an internal investigation is already being conducted by SriLankan Airlines regarding the incident, noting that the parts of the computer have also been sent to the manufacturing company.
He said the final report of the investigation will be made public once completed.
The Minister strongly advised the authorities of SriLankan Airlines to take steps to prevent such situations from happening in the future based on the findings of the pending investigation reports and to fast-track the inquiry into the matter promptly.
SriLankan Airlines CEO Nuttall claimed that not only SriLankan Airlines, but all airlines operated in the world experience such unfortunate incidents. He added that the airline has taken steps not to repeat such mistakes.
The Minister then requested the CEO to provide him with the reports of such global incidents that were experienced by airlines within a week.
SriLankan Airlines Engineering Department Head said the department is operating understaff of 25 people as most of them have left the company for lucrative opportunities overseas.
Against this backdrop, Minister de Silva approved recruiting 25 qualified people for the Engineering Department immediately.
The Minister also said it was imperative to expedite the process to lease new aircraft as soon as possible to avoid further situations.
In April 2022, the SriLankan Airlines called for proposals to lease up to 21 aircraft just as the country defaulted on its foreign debt.
Thereafter, in December 2022 SriLankan Airlines Chairman Ashok Pathirage revealed plans to lease up to 11 aircraft of which the lease contracts are expiring this year, noting that the Cabinet of Ministers has approved to replace around 9-11 aircrafts that are going out as per the lease agreement.
“Based on the age of the aircraft, cost and availability, we have to analyse carefully what is good for the airline and for the country,” Pathirage added.
Minister de Silva also revealed that the restructuring process of the airline has started in parallel, and a committee has already been appointed by the Treasury to implement it soon.
