Auctioning of SriLankan Airlines postponed
The decision to auction SriLankan Airlines, the national carrier of Sri Lanka, has been put on hold and the Treasury is to pump money into the airline for 6 months, Minister of Ports, Shipping and Aviation Nimal Siripala de Silva said.
He said that the restructuring of SriLankan Airlines was postponed on a recommendation made to the Government that it first settle the outstanding debts of the airline.
Accordingly, the Cabinet has decided to release funds from the Treasury for 6 months to manage the airline before it is restructured.
Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva said that once the airline is restructured the funds used by the Treasury will be collected.
The move to restructure SriLankan Airlines comes as the airline continued to face several cancellations and delays over the past few weeks.
On February 27th several SriLankan Airlines flights scheduled to leave from the Bandaranaike International Airport in Katunayake were disrupted.
According to reports, at least 10 flights were either delayed or cancelled.
The flights included those operating to India, Malaysia, Indonesia, Bangladesh, the Maldives, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, the UAE and Kuwai.
It was also reported that SriLankan Airlines flights to Chennai, Bangalore, and Abu Dhabi were cancelled. (Colombo Gazette)
