A very good article - with just a few inaccuracies.

When MR showed up at London Heathrow with his entourage wanting to get on the flight - they actually offered him 8 seats in a full Business Class. MR could have traveled on this flight with a few of his cronies. There was an effort made to try and accommodate him - makes the subsequent dismissal of Peter Hill even more bizarre.

The author makes the mistake of thinking that this Airline can still be turned around. I did comment on why this is incorrect. So far the Daily Mirror hasn't published my comment (not the first time this has happened). I guess there is such a thing as too much truth!

Emirates A380

SriLankan Airlines considering flights to Ahmedabad

With SriLankan Airlines set to expand its reach in India to Hyderabad, Coimbatore and Visakhapatnam this week, the airline is also looking at the possibility of bringing Ahmedabad to its route network.

“We were trying to increase the capacity to Delhi and Mumbai to 11 frequencies from July. However, we managed to get a clearance from India’s DGCA (Directorate General of Civil Aviation) for 4 additional frequencies weekly to only Delhi because of the non-availability of slots at Mumbai Airport. The flights to Delhi started operating last week, where we now offer 11 weekly connections.

While evaluating our options in West India, after Mumbai, Ahmedabad seems to be the best option. The cards are on the table for Ahmedabad and the management will take a call soon,” said Lal Perera, Regional Manager – Indian Subcontinent & Middle East, SriLankan Airlines. He was talking on the sidelines of the opening of SriLankan Airlines’ new office in Andheri in suburban Mumbai recently.

Talking about India expansion with connections to the 3 new cities in South India, Dimuthu Tennakoon, Head of Worldwide Sales & Distribution, SriLankan Airlines, said, “India is the top source market for SriLankan Airlines. With the addition of 3 new destinations, SriLankan now connects 14 destinations in India with 126 weekly flights. Besides these cities, the other destinations in India are serviced with daily or double daily flights. We realised that Hyderabad, Coimbatore and Visakhapatnam would benefit our pan India network for travel to Colombo and onward connections.”

The focus of these three flights from India is on business and leisure traffic.

Government to bring regulations on operation of drones

The Civil Aviation Authority of Sri Lanka has taken steps to implement the standards and regulations for using drones for aerial photography.

Authorities say information have been received on operating drones inappropriately and therefore a one day workshop has been held at the auditorium of the Civil Aviation Authority, Hunupitiya on Friday to formulate a legal system to regulate the drone use.

The Ministry of Transport and Civil Aviation says that, in addition to obtaining the registration and approval of the Civil Aviation Authority of Sri Lanka, permission for drone use has to be obtained in future from the Ministry of Defense in the areas the drone is being operated.

Operating a drone with a weight less than 200 g within less than 150 feet of the operator's territory for educational or hobby purposes does not require a permission or registration.

Owners of drone cameras over 200g have to register with the Civil Aviation Authority and obtain permission to fly the drone.

So, the A380 is in CMB for 6 hours?

Hi,

Are the A320's at Srilankan under a refurbishment program? I saw a picture up on instgram.
(I hope it is, as the interiors of the A320's ABM/N/O/P are quite weared out and the entertainment system is not great)

yes. EK A380 (EK654) will be at CMB for 6 hours before heading back to DXB as EK655.

Gents - Any reason why EK is flying A380 to CMB on the 14-Aug ? does that means EK sold 400+ seats for the particular flight?

Hi Umedha - Does EK still have plans to fly DXB-CMB-MEL ?

they will use only one time A380 to colombo ? i mean only 14-Aug-2017?
because i ve tried to find another flight with A380 but i didnt find anything only normal EK654 with B77W

Yes only 1 day !!!

QR operates an additional flight eff 01 aug 2017

QR is increasing Colombo flights from 3 to 4 Daily , effective 1st Aug 2017.

DOH-CMB - 02:10 - 09:55 - QR664 - DAILY
DOH-CMB - 07:35 - 15:20 - QR654 - 7
DOH-CMB - 08:00 - 15:45 - QR654 - 12456
DOH-CMB - 10:00 - 17:45 - QR654 - 3
DOH-CMB - 18:00 - 01:45 - QR668 - DAILY
DOH-CMB - 18:50 - 02:55 - QR662 - DAILY

Probably to check the infrastructure...A380 readiness...I highly doubt CMB is ready to receive A380...I definitely know for baggage handling in CMB sucks, specially arrivals belts cannot even handle a 747 properly. overflowing check In, immigration and security clearance. PAX movement in CMB already exceeds it design limitation by 50%

According to Wikipedia, only Charlie Apron has the capability to facilitate A380s. And there are no Aero-bridges there. So yes! it will be buses indeed!!

Are they going to switch on the outer two engines?

Hi Banu, yes thats what i heard. EK applied permission to use this route and got the approval. They will start the route later this year or beginning of next year. Probably EK654 is a test flight to see how CMB handles the A380?