SriLankan Airlines set for revival with expanded fleet
- 5opn1
- January 14, 2025
- Aviation news
- SriLankan Airlines set for revival with expanded fleet
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After shelving plans to sell the debt-ridden national carrier, SriLankan Airlines, the Government has announced a five-year corporate plan to rejuvenate the airline.
Under this, three new aircraft have been added and the fleet size increased to 25 by early this year, the airline’s new chairman Sarath Ganegoda has said.He was also confident of the airline’s future under the five-year corporate plan, with the focus on operational efficiency, financial sustainability, and customer satisfaction.
According to the latest report from the Auditor General, the airline required 27 aircraft to meet operational requirements, although it currently operates a fleet of 22 aircraft. Of these, only 18 were operational as of August 12, 2024.
The inefficiency was reflected in the report, where it had been indicated that three aircraft had been grounded from October 2023 to August 2024, which incurred Rs. 2,808.96 million as lease rentals during the period.
SriLankan Airlines has been placed under the Ministry of Finance, Planning, and Economic Development as per a Gazette notification issued on November 25, 2025.
The previous regime had intended to sell the shares of the airline to get it out of the financial crisis, but it met with opposition and was consequently dropped. The former government instead searched for other ways of developing it but never succeeded in materialising any plans
