02/02/2025
SriLankan Airlines Set for Revival with Expanded Fleet
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.
President, Anura Kumara Dissanayake, emphasised that the airline should be an institution of national pride and remain in the hands of the people. “SriLankan Airlines should reflect the spirit of our people,” he said.
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 even 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.
The Senior Manager of Aircraft Engineering, Sanjeewa Dissanayake, said the fleet comprises nine Airbus A330s and thirteen Airbus A320/321s. He added that the expansion to 25 aircraft in 2025 would increase the airline’s capacity for regional and international routes, in line with its growth strategy.
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 notification outlined the responsibilities of ministries under the new government led by President Dissanayake.
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.
The new government decided to nationalise the airline after coming into power in the presidential election held in September 2024. It was a reflection of the policy of this administration to revitalise public institutions.
The Ministry of Finance, in its fiscal performance report, noted that financial constraints have disrupted the operations of the airline over recent years. It admitted that the limited fiscal capacity of the government has ruled out further equity injections into the airline.
Under the previous administration, the IFC was mandated to advice on the divestiture of the airline. In October 2023, RFQs were put out to attract investors, but the process dragged slowly and was later abandoned.
The then government had also sought to help ease the airline’s debt by transferring US $310 million in local loans guaranteed by the Treasury to the government.
It has decided to help the airliner overcome cash flow problems in the first four months of 2024 with a Rs. 5-billion equity contribution.
The Auditor General’s report for the fiscal year 2023/24 pointed at financial improvements.
Though SriLankan Airlines is facing many external and internal challenges, it has recorded a profit after tax of Rs. 7,925.01 million for the year ended 31st March 2024, against a loss of Rs. 71,306.66 million in 2022/23.
According to the report, this was due to an exchange gain of Rs. 0.5 billion in 2023/24 against a Rs. 25.6 billion exchange loss in the previous year.
Nevertheless, the airline has continued to struggle with accumulated losses that stood at Rs. 592.63 billion as of March 31, 2024, down from Rs. 599.61 billion the previous year. Total revenue for 2023/24 was Rs. 333.6 billion, a decline of 8.6 percent from Rs. 365.2 billion in 2022/23.
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