Uzbekistan Airways, the flag carrier of Uzbekistan 🇺🇿 UZB 3525 arrived at Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport (MRIA) with 135 tourists.

Are you sure they are using the 320 and not one of their Boeing WBs on the route. Long way to go in a narrow body. Even their 75s makes more sense on this sector.

Fitsair second A320 did a test flight on the 12-Apr. Has it been reconfigured as freighter?

Is it true UL is going to lease 40+ aircraft to the fleet?

https://www.ch-aviation.com/portal/n...to-42-aircraft

Guess its true, but to me its a bit strange given the current economic situation of the country and Srilankan is one of the biggest loss makers partly responsible for the current mess. Would have thought they would be asked to pay debts first, cut down the bloated staff structure and prove capability with the existing aircraft and then be allowed to order more aircraft???




https://www.ch-aviation.com/portal/n...irlines-report

....
In June 2021, the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce also published findings showing that the five identified SOEs generated 97% of losses during 2020, pointing out this was further aggravating economic and fiscal costs of COVID-19 for the country.

SriLankan Airlines alone had been responsible for 44% of these losses, the Chamber said. The airline’s profitability declined by 23% in 2020 versus 2019, recording a loss of LKR58 billion (USD286.3 million) in 2020 over a loss of LKR47.1 billion (USD232.3 million) in 2019, despite Treasury support of LKR27.7 billion (USD36.2 million) in 2020.

This link says the UL still has A350 orders standing. But previously there were reports the order has been converted to A330-900 but none were confirmed as I remember. What's the actual status of that order?

Does anyone know what's this 747 freighter from Lagos doing in SL?

lagos.jpeg

Sri Lanka is Recommending Airlines Carry Enough Jet Fuel to Last Return Trips or Fill Up ... - Latest Tweet by Bloomberg

Sad news! Would this risk foreign airlines to cancel flights to Colombo?

Aeroflot suspends flights to Sri Lanka

No mention of this in the papers:-



Not sure how much longer UL will be able to continue operations.

Travel advisories are in effect for Sri Lanka - essential travel only.

Privatization option being considered for Sri Lankan Airlines – CEO Richard Nuttall

Published 7 hours ago on 2022/08/9

SHARETWEET
By Hiran H.Senewiratne

The government is planning to restructure the national carrier, Sri Lankan Airlines, and privatization is one proposed option due to the current financial crisis, Sri Lankan Airlines Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Richard Nuttall said.

“We are now looking at the privatization option as well because the government wants to restructure Sri Lankan Airlines, which is now preparing for the in- coming tourist season. So far we have enough bookings, Nuttall said at a press conference yesterday, which was called to announce, among other things, that Sri Lankan Airlines is the official airline partner for the Sri Lanka’s Masters Hockey World Cup 2022 in England, which will be held from August 12-21 in Nottingham. The press conference was held at the Sri Lanka Institute of Tourism and Hotel Management auditorium.

Nuttall added: ‘We have 24 aircraft in the fleet, out of which three aircraft are not functioning as those engines have been sent to the Rolls Royce Company for overhaul purposes. At present the entire air industry is facing a unique crisis due to fuel issues. The high air fares are also troubling the industry but they will likely come down in the future.

‘Over the last two years, Sri Lankan tourism and the airline sector got badly hit and we are now in the process of putting infrastructure in place to revive the business and coming forward to sponsor the Masters Hockey World Cup 2022 at this critical juncture is intended to promote and attract tourists into Sri Lanka, which would in turn benefit the airline as well.’

Chairman, Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau Chalaka Gajabahu said that they, being the main sponsor for the Sri Lanka team, had seen an opportunity to promote Sri Lanka tourism at the World Cup to boost forex inflows at a desperate time amid an economic crisis.

“These hockey Masters could be the best ambassadors to do and their part to keep the nation’s flag flying high and to continue with their good work, Gajabahu said.

According to the chairman, this year they expect close to one million tourists to Sri Lanka and are now in the process of rolling out a 15 -16 month action plan.

‘Sports tourism can be a major way of creating unity and friendship with other nations and spreading a positive message about Sri Lanka to the world, giving a realistic image and a clear description about the island destination, he said.

“This is not a short term goal but rather a long term one because many of the foreigners who hear about Sri Lanka could visit the country in the future. We see it as a golden opportunity through this partnership, he added.

Sri Lanka’s premier paint company, Nippon Paint Lanka (Pvt) Limited, is a co-sponsor of the team.

Is it true Aeroflot going to resume direct passenger flights to Sri Lanka?