SriLankan Airlines (formerly known as Air Lanka) is the
flag carrier
A flag carrier is a transport company, such as an airline or shipping company, that, being locally registered in a given sovereign state, enjoys preferential rights or privileges accorded by the government for international operations.
Hist ...
of
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...
and a member airline of the
Oneworld
Oneworld (stylised as oneworld; Computer reservations system, CRS: *O) is an airline alliance founded on 1 February 1999. The alliance's stated objective is to be the first choice airline alliance for the world's frequent international traveller ...
airline alliance
An airline alliance is an aviation industry arrangement between two or more airlines agreeing to cooperate on a substantial level. Alliances may provide marketing branding to facilitate travelers making inter-airline codeshare connections within c ...
. It is currently the largest airline in Sri Lanka by number of
aircraft
An aircraft is a vehicle that is able to fly by gaining support from the air. It counters the force of gravity by using either static lift or by using the dynamic lift of an airfoil, or in a few cases the downward thrust from jet engines ...
and destinations and was launched in 1979 as Air Lanka following the termination of operations of the original Sri Lankan flag carrier
Air Ceylon
Air Ceylon was the former flag carrier airline of Ceylon (now Sri Lanka). The airline discontinued flights to Europe in early 1978 and finally ceased all local services on 31 August 1979, when it was replaced by Air Lanka and then rebranded to Sr ...
. Following its partial acquisition in 1998 by
Emirates
Emirates may refer to:
* United Arab Emirates, a Middle Eastern country
* Emirate, any territory ruled by an emir
** Gulf emirates, emirates located on the Persian Gulf
** Emirates of the United Arab Emirates, the individual emirates
* The Emirat ...
, it was re-branded and the current livery was introduced. In 2008, the government of Sri Lanka acquired all the shares of the airline from Emirates. After ending the
Emirates
Emirates may refer to:
* United Arab Emirates, a Middle Eastern country
* Emirate, any territory ruled by an emir
** Gulf emirates, emirates located on the Persian Gulf
** Emirates of the United Arab Emirates, the individual emirates
* The Emirat ...
partnership, it retained its re-branded name and logo. SriLankan Airlines operates over 560 flights per week across Asia.
The Airline operates to 113 destinations in 51 countries (including codeshare operations) from its main hub located at
Bandaranaike International Airport
Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) ( si, බණ්ඩාරනායක ජාත්යන්තර ගුවන්තොටුපළ, translit=Bandāranāyaka Jātyantara Guvantoṭupaḷa; ta, பண்டாரநாயக்க ...
near
Colombo
Colombo ( ; si, කොළඹ, translit=Koḷam̆ba, ; ta, கொழும்பு, translit=Koḻumpu, ) is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. According to the Brookings Institution, Colombo me ...
. SriLankan Airlines joined the
Oneworld
Oneworld (stylised as oneworld; Computer reservations system, CRS: *O) is an airline alliance founded on 1 February 1999. The alliance's stated objective is to be the first choice airline alliance for the world's frequent international traveller ...
airline alliance on 1 May 2014.
History
Air Lanka
![Boeing 747-238B, AirLanka AN1108765](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c2/Boeing_747-238B%2C_AirLanka_AN1108765.jpg)
In 1979 Former airline manager Rajeewa Jayaweera, President
Jayewardena initially did not interfere after entrusting the airline to Captain Rakitha Wickramanayake and the board of directors consisting of industry officials and managers. Former Singapore President, said "How could an airline pilot run an airline?". A 1986 Presidential Commission discovered the Air Lanka Board looking and uncovered many mismanagements. Under President
Wijetunga's appointment of a retired General as Chairman/MD with Air Vice Marshals and a UNP attorney as executive directors. None of them had the know-how or understanding to run a business airline.
Air Lanka was established as the flag carrier of
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...
once the Sri Lankan government shut down the bankrupt
Air Ceylon
Air Ceylon was the former flag carrier airline of Ceylon (now Sri Lanka). The airline discontinued flights to Europe in early 1978 and finally ceased all local services on 31 August 1979, when it was replaced by Air Lanka and then rebranded to Sr ...
. Air Lanka's initial fleet consisted of two
Boeing 707
The Boeing 707 is an American, long-range, narrow-body airliner, the first jetliner developed and produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes.
Developed from the Boeing 367-80 prototype first flown in 1954, the initial first flew on December 20, ...
, leased from
Singapore Airlines
Singapore Airlines (abbreviation: SIA) is the flag carrier airline of the Republic of Singapore with its Airline hub, hub located at Singapore Changi Airport. The airline is notable for highlighting the Singapore Girl as its central figure in ...
. One
Boeing 737
The Boeing 737 is a narrow-body aircraft produced by Boeing at its Renton Factory in Washington.
Developed to supplement the Boeing 727 on short and thin routes, the twinjet retains the 707 fuselage width and six abreast seating with two un ...
was leased from Maersk Air and maintained by Air Tara. On 24 April 1980, the lease ended; Air Lanka received a replacement Boeing 737 leased from
Royal Brunei. On 1 November 1980, Air Lanka commenced wide-body operations which were leased
Lockheed L1011-1 Tristar from
Air Canada
Air Canada is the flag carrier and the largest airline of Canada by the size and passengers carried. Air Canada maintains its headquarters in the borough of Saint-Laurent, Montreal, Quebec. The airline, founded in 1937, provides scheduled and ...
.
On 15 April 1982, Air Lanka purchased an L1011 Tristar from
All Nippon Airways
, also known as ANA (''Ē-enu-ē'') or is an airline in Japan. Its headquarters are located in Shiodome City Center in the Shiodome area of Minato ward of Tokyo. It operates services to both domestic and international destinations and had mo ...
. With the introduction of Tristar aircraft, the Boeing 707s were phased out. Then another L1011 was leased from
Air Canada
Air Canada is the flag carrier and the largest airline of Canada by the size and passengers carried. Air Canada maintains its headquarters in the borough of Saint-Laurent, Montreal, Quebec. The airline, founded in 1937, provides scheduled and ...
whilst a third was purchased from All Nippon. On 1 May 1982,
HAECO
Hong Kong Aircraft Engineering Company Limited (HAECO) is a leading independent aircraft engineering and maintenance group with its head office located at Hong Kong International Airport. Established in 1950, the HAECO Group comprises 16 operat ...
took over the maintenance of the two Air Lanka-owned Tristars, while Air Canada maintained two leased Tristars.
On 28 March 1980, Air Lanka signed a purchase agreement for two brand new
Lockheed L1011-500 Tristars, the most advanced wide-body aircraft in the world at that time. The first Lockheed L1011-500 (4R-ULA) was accepted on 26 August 1982, at
Palmdale
Palmdale is a city in northern Los Angeles County in the U.S. state of California. The city lies in the Antelope Valley region of Southern California. The San Gabriel Mountains separate Palmdale from the Los Angeles Basin to the south.
On Aug ...
,
California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
. It was flown to Amsterdam as UL flight 566P. On 28 August, 4R-ULA "City of Colombo" left for its inaugural flight from Amsterdam to Colombo as UL566. It reached Colombo on 29 August. This was followed by the second Lockheed L1011-500, 4R-ULB, "City of Jayawardanapura". On 8 June 1984 the airline received its first
Boeing 747-200B
The Boeing 747 is a large, long-range wide-body airliner designed and manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes in the United States between 1968 and 2022.
After introducing the 707 in October 1958, Pan Am wanted a jet times its size, t ...
"King Vijaya" and the second joined later. The aircraft were used on flights to
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
and a few flights to southeast Asia. However they were retired in 1987. In 1994, Air Lanka became the Asian Launch Customer of the Airbus
A340-300.
Rebranding
![Airbus A340-311, SriLankan Airlines JP7350620](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ea/Airbus_A340-311%2C_SriLankan_Airlines_JP7350620.jpg)
Air Lanka, which was state-owned, was partially privatized in 1998, with investment by
Dubai
Dubai (, ; ar, دبي, translit=Dubayy, , ) is the most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, the most populated of the 7 emirates of the United Arab Emirates.The Government and Politics of ...
-based
Emirates Group
The Emirates Group ( ar, مجموعة الإمارات) is a state-owned Dubai-based international aviation holding company headquartered in Garhoud, Dubai, Garhoud, Dubai, United Arab Emirates, near Dubai International Airport. The Emirates Gro ...
, when Emirates and the Sri Lankan government signed an agreement for a ten-year strategic partnership. This agreement included exclusive rights for all aircraft ground handling and airline catering at Colombo-Bandaranaike airport for ten years. Emirates bought a 40% stake worth US$70 million (which it later increased to 43.6%) in Air Lanka and sought to refurbish the airline's image and fleet. The government retained a majority stake in the airline but gave full control to Emirates for investment and management decisions. In 1998, Air Lanka re-branded to SriLankan Airlines.
SriLankan acquired 6
Airbus A330-200
The Airbus A330 is a wide-body aircraft developed and produced by Airbus.
Airbus conceived several derivatives of the A300, its first airliner in the mid-1970s. Then the company began development on the A330 twinjet in parallel with the A340 ...
s to complement its fleet of
Airbus A340-300
The Airbus A340 is a long-haul, long-range, wide-body passenger airliner that was developed and produced by Airbus.
In the mid-1970s, Airbus conceived several derivatives of the Airbus A300, A300, its first airliner, and developed the A340 qu ...
and
A320-200 aircraft. The A330-200 aircraft joined the airline between October 1999 and July 2000. The company's fourth A340-300 arrived at Colombo painted in the airline's new corporate livery. SriLankan upgraded its existing A340 fleet into a two-class configuration (business and economy class) whilst overhauling the interior to reflect the new corporate image.
The airline gradually increased its number of destinations with more additions for regional markets, notably
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
and the
Middle East
The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...
. Whilst continuing expansion in the region, SriLankan commenced flying to
Jeddah
Jeddah ( ), also spelled Jedda, Jiddah or Jidda ( ; ar, , Jidda, ), is a city in the Hejaz region of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) and the country's commercial center. Established in the 6th century BC as a fishing village, Jeddah's pro ...
, its third destination in Saudi Arabia, after
Riyadh
Riyadh (, ar, الرياض, 'ar-Riyāḍ, lit.: 'The Gardens' Najdi pronunciation: ), formerly known as Hajr al-Yamamah, is the capital and largest city of Saudi Arabia. It is also the capital of the Riyadh Province and the centre of the R ...
and
Dammam
Dammam ( ar, الدمّام ') is the fifth-most populous city in Saudi Arabia after Riyadh, Jeddah, Mecca, and Medina. It is the capital of the Eastern Province. With a total population of 1,252,523 as of 2020. The judicial and administrative ...
, thus increasing the number of destinations in the Middle East to nine.
Jeddah
Jeddah ( ), also spelled Jedda, Jiddah or Jidda ( ; ar, , Jidda, ), is a city in the Hejaz region of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) and the country's commercial center. Established in the 6th century BC as a fishing village, Jeddah's pro ...
became the airline's 51st destination overall.
In 2008, Emirates notified the Sri Lankan Government that it would not renew its management contract, which then expired on 31 March 2008. It claimed that the Sri Lankan Government was seeking greater control over the day-to-day management of the airline.
[Management contract terminated](_blank)
January 2008, OAG, News briefing Emirates sold its 43.63% stake in the airline to the
Government of Sri Lanka
The Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) ( si, ශ්රී ලංකා රජය, Śrī Lankā Rajaya; ta, இலங்கை அரசாங்கம்) is a parliamentary system determined by the Sri Lankan Constitution. It administers the is ...
in a deal that was finalized in 2010, thus ending any affiliations the two airlines had with each other.
[Sri Lanka Buys Emirates’ Stake in SriLankan Airlines](_blank)
Anusha Ondaatjie and Asantha Sirimanne, BusinessWeek
''Bloomberg Businessweek'', previously known as ''BusinessWeek'', is an American weekly business magazine published fifty times a year. Since 2009, the magazine is owned by New York City-based Bloomberg L.P. The magazine debuted in New York City ...
, 7 July 2010.
Modern era
![SriLankan Airlines AirTaxi - panoramio (edited)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9e/SriLankan_Airlines_AirTaxi_-_panoramio_%28edited%29.jpg)
In 2008 when Emirates pulled out, the accumulated profit of SriLankan was Rs. 9.288 billion in that financial year. From 2008 to 2015, when the government administration ran it, the loss for the seven years was Rs. 128.238 billion (US$875 million).
Following the ownership transfer, SriLankan took the decision to promote Colombo as a hub for flights to Asia. The first destination of the expansion plan was
Shanghai
Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flow ...
; the route was initiated on 1 July 2010. The airline commenced flights to
Guangzhou
Guangzhou (, ; ; or ; ), also known as Canton () and alternatively romanized as Kwongchow or Kwangchow, is the capital and largest city of Guangdong province in southern China. Located on the Pearl River about north-northwest of Hong Kon ...
on 28 January 2011.
[SriLankan Airlines expands fleet, plans new destinations](_blank)
LBO, 20 July 2010
SriLankan joined the
Oneworld
Oneworld (stylised as oneworld; Computer reservations system, CRS: *O) is an airline alliance founded on 1 February 1999. The alliance's stated objective is to be the first choice airline alliance for the world's frequent international traveller ...
alliance on 1 May 2014. During 2014 it started to renew and increase its fleet, with purchases of Airbus A330 and A350 models. Currently, SriLankan operates an all-Airbus fleet except for its discontinued Air-Taxi services.
SriLankan retired their last
Airbus A340-300
The Airbus A340 is a long-haul, long-range, wide-body passenger airliner that was developed and produced by Airbus.
In the mid-1970s, Airbus conceived several derivatives of the Airbus A300, A300, its first airliner, and developed the A340 qu ...
on 7 January 2016 with its last scheduled flight from
Chennai
Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...
to
Colombo
Colombo ( ; si, කොළඹ, translit=Koḷam̆ba, ; ta, கொழும்பு, translit=Koḻumpu, ) is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. According to the Brookings Institution, Colombo me ...
.
The airline terminated three European routes – Frankfurt, Paris and Rome – by the end of 2016. On 2020, the Frankfurt and Paris routes were resumed.
The airline absorbed the operations of sister carrier
Mihin Lanka
Mihin Lanka was a low-fare leisure airline based in Colombo, Sri Lanka. It was owned by the Sri Lankan government. The airline operated scheduled flights from its hub at Bandaranaike International Airport to a number of cities in the Indian subc ...
in October 2016, in a bid to create a single stronger national airline for Sri Lanka. Accordingly, SriLankan took over two of Mihin Lanka's aircraft and absorbed its route network, adding ten new destinations to SriLankan's route network.
In October 2017, SriLankan launched direct daily non-stop flights to
Melbourne
Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...
, Australia, its first new long-haul route in over five years and the most ambitious expansion to date. The flights restore a regular direct air link between Australia and Sri Lanka after a hiatus of sixteen years.
During the COVID-19 pandemic SriLankan performed cargo and operating relief flights. On 1 February 2020 it operated a relief flight out of Wuhan, China.
SriLankan lost 36.3 billion rupees up to August 2020 and the government approved a voluntary retirement package for 560 employees at a cost of 1.46 billion rupees.
From May 2022, due to the ongoing
economic crisis in Sri Lanka which resulted in the country facing a massive fuel shortage, SriLankan's long-haul flights have to make stopovers at the airports in the Indian cities of
Trivandrum
Thiruvananthapuram (; ), also known by its former name Trivandrum (), is the capital of the Indian state of Kerala. It is the most populous city in Kerala with a population of 957,730 as of 2011. The encompassing urban agglomeration populati ...
,
Chennai
Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...
and
Kochi
Kochi (), also known as Cochin ( ) ( the official name until 1996) is a major port city on the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea, which is a part of the Arabian Sea. It is part of the district of Ernakulam in the state of K ...
in order to refuel.
Corporate affairs
The company's head office is at Airline Centre,
Bandaranaike International Airport
Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) ( si, බණ්ඩාරනායක ජාත්යන්තර ගුවන්තොටුපළ, translit=Bandāranāyaka Jātyantara Guvantoṭupaḷa; ta, பண்டாரநாயக்க ...
,
Katunayake
Katunayake ( si, කටුනායක, ta, கட்டுநாயகம்), is a suburb of Negombo city in Western Province, Sri Lanka. It is the site of Bandaranaike International Airport or Colombo Airport, the primary international air g ...
.
[
]
Livery
The initial livery consisted of red stripes on a white fuselage. The tail was solid red and sported the corporate logo, a stylized vimana
Vimāna are mythological flying palaces or chariots described in Hindu texts and Sanskrit epics. The "Pushpaka Vimana" of Ravana (who took it from Kubera; Rama returned it to Kubera) is the most quoted example of a vimana. Vimanas are also mentio ...
locally known as "Dandu Monara" (Flying Peacock Aircraft) of King Ravana of ancient "Lanka", Ravana
Ravana (; , , ) is a rakshasa king of the island of Lanka, and the chief antagonist of the Hindu epic ''Ramayana'' and its adaptations.
In the ''Ramayana'', Ravana is described to be the eldest son of sage Vishrava and rakshasi Kaikesi. He a ...
. as per the famous "Ramayana" mythology. The five 'tail feathers' represent the "Five Precepts" (Pancha Seela) of Buddhism and the three 'crown feathers' represent the "Triple Gem" (Buddha, Dhamma, Sangha) of Buddhism. Red colour reflects the predominant colour in the Sri Lankan national flag which represent the majority race in the country, Sinhalese. This meaningful logo was designed by Mr Shantha Saparamadu, formerly of Ceylinco advertising. This was the sole livery of the airline for nearly two decades, from January 1979 to October 1998.
After Air Lanka began a decade-long partnership with Emirates, the name was changed to Sri Lankan Airlines; the livery was changed into a much simpler one, with an all-white fuselage, covered by blue 'Sri Lankan' titles, and the tail adorned with the new corporate logo.
In May 2014, an Airbus A330
The Airbus A330 is a wide-body aircraft developed and produced by Airbus.
Airbus conceived several derivatives of the A300, its first airliner in the mid-1970s. Then the company began development on the A330 twinjet in parallel with the A340 ...
& an Airbus A320
The Airbus A320 family is a series of Narrow-body aircraft, narrow-body airliners developed and produced by Airbus.
The A320 was launched in March 1984, Maiden flight, first flew on 22 February 1987, and was introduced in April 1988 by Air F ...
in special oneworld
Oneworld (stylised as oneworld; Computer reservations system, CRS: *O) is an airline alliance founded on 1 February 1999. The alliance's stated objective is to be the first choice airline alliance for the world's frequent international traveller ...
livery was delivered to commemorate the airline's establishment as a oneworld
Oneworld (stylised as oneworld; Computer reservations system, CRS: *O) is an airline alliance founded on 1 February 1999. The alliance's stated objective is to be the first choice airline alliance for the world's frequent international traveller ...
member. Newly delivered aircraft are adorned with a redesigned livery accompanying a blue underbelly slogan promoting Sri Lanka as a tourist destination.
Subsidiaries
SriLankan Catering is a wholly-owned subsidiary of SriLankan Airlines, providing flight catering services to all airlines serving the Bandaranaike International Airport
Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) ( si, බණ්ඩාරනායක ජාත්යන්තර ගුවන්තොටුපළ, translit=Bandāranāyaka Jātyantara Guvantoṭupaḷa; ta, பண்டாரநாயக்க ...
.
Its other businesses include provision of aircraft maintenance and overhaul services, ground handling services, packaged holiday products, aviation training as well as IT services.
Destinations
SriLankan currently operates an online network of 117 destinations and codeshares with other airlines to provide services to a total of 42 cities in 20 countries. Its interline partnerships and membership in Oneworld
Oneworld (stylised as oneworld; Computer reservations system, CRS: *O) is an airline alliance founded on 1 February 1999. The alliance's stated objective is to be the first choice airline alliance for the world's frequent international traveller ...
alliance allows it to offer passengers connectivity to over 1,000 cities in 160 countries.
SriLankan is currently the largest foreign airline operating service to India, in terms of destinations, serving 14 cities. It is also the largest foreign airline in the Maldives, serving 2 cities.
Alliance
On 11 June 2012, SriLankan Airlines was announced as oneworld's latest member-elect, on the sidelines of the IATA World Air Transport Summit in Beijing. Cathay Pacific
Cathay Pacific Airways Limited (CPA), more widely known as Cathay Pacific (), is the flag carrier of Hong Kong, with its head office and main hub located at Hong Kong International Airport. The airline's operations and subsidiaries have sc ...
served Sri Lankan Airlines as its sponsor through its alliance implementation program. Its membership implementation took approximately 18 months. SriLankan Airlines joined the airline alliance on 1 May 2014 as the first carrier from the Indian Sub-continent.
Codeshare agreements
SriLankan Airlines codeshares with the following airlines:
*Air Canada
Air Canada is the flag carrier and the largest airline of Canada by the size and passengers carried. Air Canada maintains its headquarters in the borough of Saint-Laurent, Montreal, Quebec. The airline, founded in 1937, provides scheduled and ...
*Air India
Air India is the flag carrier airline of India, headquartered at New Delhi. It is owned by Talace Private Limited, a Special-Purpose Vehicle (SPV) of Tata Sons, after Air India Limited's former owner, the Government of India, completed the sa ...
*American Airlines
American Airlines is a major airlines of the United States, major US-based airline headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, within the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. It is the Largest airlines in the world, largest airline in the world when measured ...
*Asiana Airlines
Asiana Airlines Inc. ( ) is a South Korean airline headquartered in Seoul.[Home]
." Asiana Airlines. Retrieved 13 September 2 ...
*Cinnamon Air
Saffron Aviation, DBA Cinnamon Air is a Sri Lankan domestic airline, operating from a dedicated terminal at the Bandaranaike International Airport, Colombo to destinations around Sri Lanka. It commenced its daily scheduled operation in July 2013. ...
*Etihad Airways
Etihad Airways ( ar, شَرِكَة ٱلْاِتِّحَاد لِلطَّيْرَان, sharikat al-ittiḥād li-ṭ-ṭayarān) is one of two flag carriers of the United Arab Emirates (the other being Emirates). Its head office is in Khalifa ...
*Ethiopian Airlines
Ethiopian Airlines (commonly referred to as Ethiopian; am, የኢትዮጵያ አየር መንገድ, translit=Ye-Ītyōṗṗyā āyer menged), formerly ''Ethiopian Air Lines'' (EAL), is the flag carrier of Ethiopia, and is wholly owned by t ...
*Finnair
Finnair ( fi, Finnair Oyj, sv, Finnair Abp) is the flag carrier and largest airline of Finland, with its headquarters in Vantaa on the grounds of Helsinki Airport, its hub. Finnair and its subsidiaries dominate both domestic and internationa ...
*Gulf Air
Gulf Air ( ar, طيران الخليج ''Ṭayarān al-Khalīj'') is the state-owned airline and the flag carrier of Bahrain, which was founded in 1950 by British Pilot Freddie Bosworth as Gulf Aviation. Headquartered in Muharraq, the airline ...
*Japan Airlines
, also known as JAL (''Jaru'') or , is an international airline and Japan's flag carrier and largest airline as of 2021 and 2022, headquartered in Shinagawa, Tokyo. Its main hubs are Tokyo's Narita International Airport and Haneda Airport, as w ...
*Malaysia Airlines
Malaysia Airlines Berhad (MAB; ms, Penerbangan Malaysia Berhad), formerly known as Malaysian Airline System (MAS; ), and branded as Malaysia Airlines, is the flag carrier airline of Malaysia and a member of the Oneworld airline alliance. (The ...
*Myanmar Airways International
Myanmar Airways International Co., Ltd. ( my, အပြည်ပြည်ဆိုင်ရာ မြန်မာ့လေကြောင်းလိုင်း) is a privately owned airline headquartered in Yangon, Myanmar. It operates sched ...
*Oman Air
Oman Air ( ar, الطيران العماني) is the national airline of the Sultanate of Oman. Based at Muscat International Airport in Seeb, Muscat, it operates domestic and international passenger services, as well as regional air taxi and ch ...
*Qatar Airways
Qatar Airways Company Q.C.S.C. ( ar, القطرية, ''al-Qaṭariya''), operating as Qatar Airways, is the state-owned flag carrier airline of Qatar. Headquartered in the Qatar Airways Tower in Doha, the airline operates a hub-and-spoke netw ...
Interline agreements
SriLankan Airlines have Interline agreement
Interlining, also known as interline ticketing and interline booking, is a voluntary commercial agreement between individual airlines to handle passengers traveling on itineraries that require multiple flights on multiple airlines. Such agreement ...
s with the following airlines:
* Pakistan International Airlines
Pakistan International Airlines ( ur, ; abbreviated PIA, ur, ) is an international airline that serves as the national flag carrier of Pakistan under the administrative control of the Secretary to the Government of Pakistan for Aviation. It ...
Fleet
Current fleet
, SriLankan Airlines operates an all-Airbus
Airbus SE (; ; ; ) is a European Multinational corporation, multinational aerospace corporation. Airbus designs, manufactures and sells civil and military aerospace manufacturer, aerospace products worldwide and manufactures aircraft througho ...
fleet composed of the following aircraft:
Formerly operated
Fleet development
The airline received its first Airbus
Airbus SE (; ; ; ) is a European Multinational corporation, multinational aerospace corporation. Airbus designs, manufactures and sells civil and military aerospace manufacturer, aerospace products worldwide and manufactures aircraft througho ...
aircraft in 1992, the Airbus A320-200
Airbus SE (; ; ; ) is a European multinational aerospace corporation. Airbus designs, manufactures and sells civil and military aerospace products worldwide and manufactures aircraft throughout the world. The company has three divisions: '' ...
began flying to the airline's regional routes in Maldives
Maldives (, ; dv, ދިވެހިރާއްޖެ, translit=Dhivehi Raajje, ), officially the Republic of Maldives ( dv, ދިވެހިރާއްޖޭގެ ޖުމްހޫރިއްޔާ, translit=Dhivehi Raajjeyge Jumhooriyyaa, label=none, ), is an archipelag ...
, Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
and southern India. The Airbus A340-300
The Airbus A340 is a long-haul, long-range, wide-body passenger airliner that was developed and produced by Airbus.
In the mid-1970s, Airbus conceived several derivatives of the Airbus A300, A300, its first airliner, and developed the A340 qu ...
was delivered in 1994. The airline was the first in Asia to use the A340. The Airbus A330-200
The Airbus A330 is a wide-body aircraft developed and produced by Airbus.
Airbus conceived several derivatives of the A300, its first airliner in the mid-1970s. Then the company began development on the A330 twinjet in parallel with the A340 ...
aircraft were delivered later on
In 2012, SriLankan Airlines aimed to boost its fleet to 35 aircraft over the next five years and had talks with both Airbus and Boeing regarding a deal. SriLankan's former CEO Kapila Chandrasena stated that the carrier wanted to add either Airbus A330-300
The Airbus A330 is a wide-body aircraft developed and produced by Airbus.
Airbus conceived several derivatives of the A300, its first airliner in the mid-1970s. Then the company began development on the A330 twinjet in parallel with the A34 ...
, Boeing 787-8
The Boeing 787 Dreamliner is an American wide-body jet airliner developed and manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes.
After dropping its unconventional Sonic Cruiser project, Boeing announced the conventional 7E7 on January 29, 2003, ...
or Boeing 777-300ER
The Boeing 777, commonly referred to as the Triple Seven, is an American long-range wide-body airliner developed and manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. It is the world's largest twinjet.
The 777 was designed to bridge the gap bet ...
aircraft to its fleet to replace its Airbus A340-300s, with deliveries beginning in 2013–2014.
In April 2013, it was announced that SriLankan Airlines had won government approval to acquire four Airbus A350-900
The Airbus A350 is a long-range, wide-body twin-engine jet airliner developed and produced by Airbus.
The first A350 design proposed by Airbus in 2004, in response to the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, would have been a development of the A330 wi ...
and seven A330-300 aircraft, with deliveries of the A330-300 starting from October 2014. Deliveries for the ordered A350-900s are set to commence in 2019. A further three Airbus A350-900s were leased, with deliveries of these aircraft starting in 2017.
SriLankan phased out its last Airbus A340-300 on 7 January 2016, replaced by the A330-300 and the future A350-900. As of January 2016, construction of the airline's first Airbus A350-900
The Airbus A350 is a long-range, wide-body twin-engine jet airliner developed and produced by Airbus.
The first A350 design proposed by Airbus in 2004, in response to the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, would have been a development of the A330 wi ...
has started. On 23 February 2015, SriLankan Airlines finalized a deal with Air Lease Corporation
Air Lease Corporation (ALC) is an American aircraft leasing company founded in 2010 and headed by Steven F. Udvar-Házy. Air Lease purchases new commercial aircraft through direct orders from Boeing, Airbus, Embraer and ATR, and leases them to it ...
and AerCap
AerCap Holdings N.V. is an Irish aircraft leasing company based in Dublin. It became the largest aircraft leasing company in the world after acquiring International Lease Finance Corporation (ILFC) in 2014, then GECAS from General Electric in 2 ...
to acquire two Airbus A321neo
The Airbus A320neo family is a development of the A320 family of narrow-body airliners produced by Airbus.
The A320neo family (''neo'' for "new engine option") is based on the previous A319, A320 and A321 ( enhanced variant), which was then ren ...
aircraft, one from each leasing firm.
On 10 May 2016, due to financial difficulties, the airline announced it would cancel its order of eight A350 aircraft. As of December 2019, the four aircraft of Airbus A350-900 are still in the Airbus monthly order book and have not yet been cancelled or converted order to A330-900.
In April 2021 Sri Lankan announced that it has plans to retire 6-7 aircraft from its fleet. To replace the retiring aircraft Sri Lankan have planned A350 and A330neo aircraft.
Services
Cabin
SriLankan offers two classes of service, Business Class and Economy Class. In Business Class, SriLankan offers full flat-bed seats on all of its long haul fleet with Audio Video on Demand (AVOD) facilities. The fully flat bed seat offers a 19.5 inches wide seat that can be reclined into a 180-degree 79 inches long bed. Each seat has a 15-inch personal IFE system. SriLankan's newest fleet additions will feature Thales
Thales of Miletus ( ; grc-gre, Θαλῆς; ) was a Greek mathematician, astronomer, statesman, and pre-Socratic philosopher from Miletus in Ionia, Asia Minor. He was one of the Seven Sages of Greece. Many, most notably Aristotle, regarded him ...
Avant IFE, which features modern entertainment features and extended business class seats. Its A330-300
The Airbus A330 is a wide-body aircraft developed and produced by Airbus.
Airbus conceived several derivatives of the A300, its first airliner in the mid-1970s. Then the company began development on the A330 twinjet in parallel with the A340 ...
fleet presents an all-aisle access seating in a 1-2-1 arrangement on Business Class. On its A320 and A321 fleet, Business class is configured in a 2-2 layout, offering extra reclining seats, each seat with a width of 19 inches and a pitch between 39 and 49 inches.
SriLankan provides in-seat entertainment in Economy class on all its wide-bodied aircraft and the vast majority of narrow-body aircraft. On its A330-300 and A320/A321neo aircraft, all cabin classes are provided with the option of paid-for in-flight internet access and mobile telephony services.
Entertainment
Sri Lankan Airlines offer AVOD inflight entertainment on its aircraft. The A320, A321 & A330-200 equipped with the RAVE ZODAIC Inflight Entertainment. The new A330-300 have the latest Thales AVANT Inflight Programme. SriLankan offers onboard WiFi connectivity with new Airbus A330-300 and A320/A321neo fleets in partnership with OnAir. SriLankan is South Asia's first airline to have on-board WiFi capability.
Catering
SriLankan Catering Limited is the sole airline caterer in Sri Lanka. Its hub is at Bandaranaike International Airport
Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) ( si, බණ්ඩාරනායක ජාත්යන්තර ගුවන්තොටුපළ, translit=Bandāranāyaka Jātyantara Guvantoṭupaḷa; ta, பண்டாரநாயக்க ...
(BIA). SriLankan Catering's main line of business is in-flight catering to airlines that operate to Bandaranaike International Airport
Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) ( si, බණ්ඩාරනායක ජාත්යන්තර ගුවන්තොටුපළ, translit=Bandāranāyaka Jātyantara Guvantoṭupaḷa; ta, பண்டாரநாயக்க ...
. Its state-of-the-art flight kitchen at BIA has a capacity of 25,000 meals per day. Incorporated in 1979, as Air Lanka Catering Services Limited with BOI status, SriLankan Catering commenced business as a joint venture with Thai Airways International. In 1998 when the joint venture agreement with Thai Airways International lapsed Air Lanka Limited bought the shares of the joint venture partner and thus Air Lanka Catering Services became the fully owned subsidiary of SriLankan Airlines Limited. Thereafter the Company changed its name to SriLankan Catering (Private) Limited in September 2000.
Frequent flyer programme
SriLankan's first frequent-flyer programme
A frequent-flyer program (American English) or frequent-flyer programme (British English) is a loyalty program offered by an airline.
Many airlines have frequent-flyer programs designed to encourage airline customers enrolled in the program ...
was called ''Serendib Miles'' and was abandoned in early 2000. It then became a partner of Emirates' Skywards
The Emirates Group ( ar, مجموعة الإمارات) is a state-owned Dubai-based international aviation holding company headquartered in Garhoud, Dubai, United Arab Emirates, near Dubai International Airport. The Emirates Group comprises ...
frequent-flyer program. However, this agreement ceased to exist when the partnership between the two airlines concluded on 31 March 2008.[SriLankan Airlines launches FFP]
Business Traveller, 26 March 2008. SriLankan subsequently launched ''FlySmiLes'', which has since added a variety of new reward partners to its program.
New membership tiers were added after the airline's enrollment to the oneworld alliance to accommodate oneworld membership tiers. Gaining members better privileges aboard all Oneworld airlines.
There are a total of four membership tiers as of 1 May 2014. They are:
*FlySmiLes Blue: Base tier
*FlySmiLes Classic: Oneworld Ruby
*FlySmiLes Gold: Oneworld Sapphire
*FlySmiLes Platinum: Oneworld Emerald
FlySmiles partners include all Oneworld airlines, Cinnamon Air
Saffron Aviation, DBA Cinnamon Air is a Sri Lankan domestic airline, operating from a dedicated terminal at the Bandaranaike International Airport, Colombo to destinations around Sri Lanka. It commenced its daily scheduled operation in July 2013. ...
and Etihad Airways
Etihad Airways ( ar, شَرِكَة ٱلْاِتِّحَاد لِلطَّيْرَان, sharikat al-ittiḥād li-ṭ-ṭayarān) is one of two flag carriers of the United Arab Emirates (the other being Emirates). Its head office is in Khalifa ...
and non-airlines partners like Abans and Spa Ceylon.
Accidents and incidents
Five of the six aircraft that have been destroyed, and all of the reported deaths of SriLankan Airlines passengers and employees, have been a result of the civil conflict in Sri Lanka.
1980s
On 3 May 1986, a bomb planted by the liberation group LTTE
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE; ta, தமிழீழ விடுதலைப் புலிகள், translit=Tamiḻīḻa viṭutalaip pulikaḷ, si, දෙමළ ඊළාම් විමුක්ති කොටි, t ...
exploded on board Flight UL512 before takeoff
Takeoff is the phase of flight in which an aerospace vehicle leaves the ground and becomes airborne. For aircraft traveling vertically, this is known as liftoff.
For aircraft that take off horizontally, this usually involves starting with a t ...
at Bandaranaike International Airport
Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) ( si, බණ්ඩාරනායක ජාත්යන්තර ගුවන්තොටුපළ, translit=Bandāranāyaka Jātyantara Guvantoṭupaḷa; ta, பண்டாரநாயக்க ...
. The bomb, which had been timed to explode in-flight, went off while the Lockheed L-1011 'Tristar' aircraft was on the ground, killing 21 of 128 passengers. Officials believe the bomb may have been concealed in crates of meat and vegetables that were being freighted to the Maldives
Maldives (, ; dv, ދިވެހިރާއްޖެ, translit=Dhivehi Raajje, ), officially the Republic of Maldives ( dv, ދިވެހިރާއްޖޭގެ ޖުމްހޫރިއްޔާ, translit=Dhivehi Raajjeyge Jumhooriyyaa, label=none, ), is an archipelag ...
. Other reports believe that the bomb was hidden in the aircraft's 'Fly Away Kit'.
1990s
In 1992, the right landing gear of an Air Lanka Boeing 737-200
The Boeing 737 is a narrow-body aircraft produced by Boeing at its Boeing Renton Factory, Renton Factory in Washington (state), Washington.
Developed to supplement the Boeing 727 on short and thin routes, the twinjet retains the Boeing 707, 7 ...
(registration 4R-ULL) at Madras airport (now Chennai International Airport
Chennai International Airport is an international airport serving the city of Chennai, Tamil Nadu and its metropolitan area. It is located in Tirusulam, southwest of the city centre. Chennai International Airport is the sixth busiest air ...
) failed upon landing and the right engine came into contact with the runway. The aircraft pulled to the right and finally came to a stop, with the nose wheel and right-wing on the grass to the right of the landing runway. The right engine caught fire – extinguished by the airport safety services – and the 104 passengers and 12 crew evacuated the aircraft via the chutes on the left side without injury. The damage to the aircraft was substantial; the plane was subsequently repaired and sold. The Indian Directorate General of Civil Aviation concluded that "the accident occurred as a result of a failure of the right-hand main landing gear beam during the landing due to pre-existing stress corrosion cracks and pits at its inboard lug hole and higher than normal landing loads contributed to its failure".
2000s
On 24 July 2001, the LTTE launched a major pre-dawn attack on Sri Lankan Airforce hangar located along the Bandaranaike International Airport
Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) ( si, බණ්ඩාරනායක ජාත්යන්තර ගුවන්තොටුපළ, translit=Bandāranāyaka Jātyantara Guvantoṭupaḷa; ta, பண்டாரநாயக்க ...
. The raid left at least 19 people dead, including all 14 LTTE Cadres, two army commandos and three air force personnel. Two of SriLankan Airlines' Airbus A330
The Airbus A330 is a wide-body aircraft developed and produced by Airbus.
Airbus conceived several derivatives of the A300, its first airliner in the mid-1970s. Then the company began development on the A330 twinjet in parallel with the A340 ...
planes (4R-ALE and 4R-ALF), one A320
The Airbus A320 family is a series of narrow-body airliners developed and produced by Airbus.
The A320 was launched in March 1984, first flew on 22 February 1987, and was introduced in April 1988 by Air France.
The first member of the famil ...
(4R-ABA) and one of their A340
The Airbus A340 is a long-range, wide-body passenger airliner that was developed and produced by Airbus.
In the mid-1970s, Airbus conceived several derivatives of the A300, its first airliner, and developed the A340 quadjet in parallel with ...
planes (4R-ADD) were destroyed. Two other planes were damaged (A340 4R-ADC and A320 4R-ABB). A number of military planes were also damaged and destroyed.
Financial fallout
SriLankan Airlines has not made a profit since 2008. When it last recorded a profit, while under the management of Emirates Airline. In 1998, Emirates won a proposal to handle the island nation's flag airline, Air Lanka. Following that, Emirates rebranded the aging carrier as SriLankan and modernized its fleet with contemporary Airbus A330 aircraft. Emirates obtained ten years management rights as part of the equity purchase. It later sold its ownership in the carrier for US$53 million, resulting in a nearly US$20 million loss.
Sri Lanka currently has no bankruptcy protection act, and the only option for a closedown would be a complete liquidation. If the Government is to shut down the airline, it will be compelled to write off this debt to the state banks and the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation. This could raise significant concerns about the two state banks' liquidity by foreign rating agencies and could seriously jeopardise the prospects of Sri Lankan's entire banking sector. The Government as the guarantor would also be called upon for immediate repayment of the international bond worth US$175 million.
The numerous accusations the SriLankan Airlines and Government could face in multiple jurisdictions regarding non-payment of aircraft rents could add insult to injury. This will gradually raise the risk premium for airlines leasing aircraft in Sri Lanka, making the country unappealing as a base for a carrier. However, one party might breathe a sigh of relief; Airbus, which is currently facing a more than US$ billion claim for the airline over the tainted A330 and A350 transactions for 2013.
In 2016 and 2017, SriLankan's losses were impacted by the costs in relation to the much-publicised cancellation of its Airbus A350 lease agreements. If the majority of the fleet were all due for heavy maintenance in later years, this could imply a significant charge of LKR 3 billion per annum for the prior years if restated. Such a change would make a further dent in the profits recorded during the Emirates era, as the maintenance cost was legitimately understated.
SriLankan subsidiary Mihin Lanka
Mihin Lanka was a low-fare leisure airline based in Colombo, Sri Lanka. It was owned by the Sri Lankan government. The airline operated scheduled flights from its hub at Bandaranaike International Airport to a number of cities in the Indian subc ...
has never recorded an annual profit since its inception in 2007 and an accumulated loss of LKR17.27 billion in 2016. The financial performance for the current year has followed the same tread of losses. For the 6-month period loss of LKR 181 million and for the remainder of the financial year it was budgeted to lose a further LKR billion. A few months after Mihin Lanka shut down losses exceed LKR 13 billion. Most of the company's assets were acquired by SriLankan Airline on October 29, 2016.
In 2020, SriLankan Airline lost a little over US$200 million. In this period airline debt obligations today exceed over US$900 million (LKR 372 billion). The bulk of these appears to be debts to state banks and the CPC, both wholly owned by the Government of Sri Lanka. The Airline also has at least one, sovereign guaranteed, internationally-issued bond worth US$175 million.
According to the Finance Ministry data, SriLankan lost LKR 24.5 billion from April to July 2021, as the company, which is already losing money, encountered even more difficulties during the SARS-CoV 2 outbreak. In the fiscal year ending March 2021, SriLankan lost LKR 58 billion.
Controversies
In March 2015, a report was released following a Board of Inquiry investigation into corruption at SriLankan during the time it was under the chairmanship of Nishantha Wickramasinghe. The Board has reported that corruption was widespread and confirmed the allegations of Nishantha Wickramasinghe's affairs. However, the Mahinda Rajapaksa Information Centre denied the allegations and accused the report of being biased and invalid, accusing the head of the committee of publicly supporting the current government in the elections and lacking technical knowledge about the aviation industry. It further claimed that he had been bribed to submit such a report as a publicity stunt to humiliate the previous government and that most of the points within it were untrue. The airline's short-lived Air-Taxi service and its mismanagement was found to have caused the loss of millions of dollars to the airline.
In October 2015, the Presidential Commission of Inquiry to Investigate and Inquire into Serious Acts of Fraud, Corruption and Abuse of Power, State Resources and Privileges (PRECIFAC) attempted to summon Wickramasinghe to inquire about various irregularities in the Airline; however, they were unable to locate him, and his wife claimed he had not come home for three years and that she was unaware of his whereabouts. Later he notified the PRECIFAC that he was abroad and was unable to give a statement.
On 14 April 2021, the SriLankan Airlines in its official Twitter handle claimed that Sri Lankan cargo had made history by operating three successive cargo charter flights
Air charter is the business of renting an entire aircraft (i.e., chartering) as opposed to individual aircraft seats (i.e., purchasing a ticket through a traditional airline).
Regulation
Charter – also called air taxi or ad hoc – flights r ...
to Entebbe International Airport
Entebbe International Airport is the only international airport in Uganda. It is located about southwest of the town of Entebbe, on the northern shores of Lake Victoria. This is approximately by road south-west of the central business distric ...
which is Uganda's only international airport uplifting over 102 metric tonnes of printed papers in February 2021. The information on whether what kind of printed papers were not revealed by Sri Lankan Airlines due to confidential reasons. However, the cargo carrier
A cargo ship or freighter is a merchant ship that carries cargo, goods, and materials from one port to another. Thousands of cargo carriers ply the world's seas and oceans each year, handling the bulk of international trade. Cargo ships are usu ...
deleted the tweet for unknown reasons and it created doubts about the transparency of Sri Lankan Airlines and speculations arose about the transfer of "printed papers" cargo charter flights that departed to Uganda in February 2021. Sri Lankan Airlines later issued a statement clarifying that the printed material which was deported to Uganda included only the Ugandan currency notes and it further revealed that due to security reasons with bordering Kenya, Ugandan government
Uganda is a presidential republic in which the President of Uganda is the head of state and the prime minister is the head of government business. There is a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is ...
preferred to obtain printed Ugandan shilling currency notes from a global security printer. The Biyagama
Biyagama ( si, බියගම, ta, பியகம) is a suburb in Gampaha District, situated in the Western Province of Sri Lanka. It is 12 miles from Colombo. A Free Trade Zone was established in Biyagama in 1985.
"Kaduwela" interchange of expr ...
branch of the De La Rue
De La Rue plc (, ) is a British company headquartered in Basingstoke, England, that designs and produces banknotes, secure polymer substrate and banknote security features (including security holograms, security threads and security printe ...
company is responsible for printing currency notes to countries including Uganda. SriLankan insisted that the consignment
Consignment involves selling one's personal goods (clothing, furniture, etc.) through a third-party vendor such as a consignment store or online thrift store. The owner of the goods pays the third-party a portion of the sale for facilitating t ...
was purely commercial in nature and brought much needed foreign revenue to the airlines as well as for the country.
SriLankan Airlines decided to sue Airbus for $ 1 billion as damages, loss of reputation, reimbursement of costs, and interests. The action follows the information revealed in the judgment of the Crown Court of the United Kingdom approving the Deferred Prosecution Agreement between the Serious Fraud Office and Airbus SE. The national carrier has also demanded from Airbus for cancellation of the A350-900 Purchase Agreement for four A350-900 aircraft, returning the advance payment of $ 19 million made for those four A350-900 aircraft.
See also
* Colombo Marathon, SriLankan Airlines is one of the sponsors of this primary marathon of Sri Lanka
* Mihin Lanka
Mihin Lanka was a low-fare leisure airline based in Colombo, Sri Lanka. It was owned by the Sri Lankan government. The airline operated scheduled flights from its hub at Bandaranaike International Airport to a number of cities in the Indian subc ...
, a former government owned low-fare leisure airline.
* Bandaranaike International Airport
Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) ( si, බණ්ඩාරනායක ජාත්යන්තර ගුවන්තොටුපළ, translit=Bandāranāyaka Jātyantara Guvantoṭupaḷa; ta, பண்டாரநாயக்க ...
, the hub of SriLankan Airlines.
References
* Birch, Doug. "SriLankan Airlines". ''Air International
''AIR International'' is a British aviation magazine covering current defence aerospace and civil aviation topics. It has been in publication since 1971 and is currently published by Key Publishing Ltd.
History and profile
The magazine was fir ...
'', February 2003, Vol 64 No 2. pp. 26–30.
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Srilankan Airlines
Airlines of Sri Lanka
Airlines established in 1979
Government-owned airlines
Sri Lankan companies established in 1979