SriLankan Airlines to deploy dedicated freighter from March

• Minister Prasanna Ranatunga says move will further boost national carrier’s resilience in cargo operations
• UL accounts for 25% of country’s total exports via air freight, 27% of total imports
• Though passenger revenue is up, airline has not reached pre-COVID levels yet

National carrier SriLankan Airlines’ dedicated freighter aircraft is to be deployed from March next year, Tourism Minister Prasanna Ranatunga said yesterday. 

SriLankan Airlines accounts for 25% of the country’s total air freight exports and 27% of its imports. “Amidst the decline in cargo handling capacities during the outbreak of COVID-pandemic, the national carrier adapted to international trade requirements and freighter demand,” he added. 

As per the Minister, SriLankan Airlines had operated 185 cargo flights from 1 April to 30 September.

“Although there is a gradual increase in passenger revenue due to the easing of travel restrictions and the encouragement of tourist arrivals. In spite of the high level of market earnings, passenger growth has not grown to the pre-COVID levels yet, as demand growth has slowed,” he pointed out.

The Minister however said that SriLankan Airlines had been able to achieve continued revenue growth through its high-yielding global cargo service.

SriLankan Airlines recently launched direct flights to eight new destinations. These eight destinations include Hong Kong, Korea, Kenya, Germany, Russia, Australia, Nepal and France. The national carrier also plans to launch direct flights to five new destinations early next year. These include Ho Chi Minh in Vietnam, Calcutta and Ahmedabad in India, Chengdu in China and Tel Aviv in Israel.

Ranatunga said direct flights to Nairobi in Kenya, Sydney in Australia, and Seoul in South Korea had been launched after the cargo services were also taken into consideration. 

Emphasising that tourism and aviation industries were severely impacted by the COVID-pandemic, the Minister said special attention to rebuilding these two sectors with multiple efforts were being implemented at present.