SriLankan finalizes A321neo leases with AerCap, ALC

Sri Lanka's FitsAir to add A320s

Sri Lanka waives landing, parking fees at three airports

Sri Lanka's government has approved a Ministry of Tourism proposal waiving all landing and aircraft parking fees at the country's three international airports - Colombo Int'l, Colombo Ratmalana, and Hambantota - for a period of nearly eleven months.

During a cabinet meeting on December 21, 2020, the government agreed to implement the waiver from December 26, when limited international scheduled traffic was due to have returned to the island, through November 19, 2021.

Although the government had cancelled several charter flights from Russia scheduled for December 27 citing a new wave of infections in the UK and elsewhere, it reversed its decision a day later when a chartered SkyUp Airlines (PQ, Kyiv Boryspil) B737-800 arrived in Hambantota from Kyiv Boryspil.

Airport and Aviation Services Sri Lanka (AASL) Deputy Chairman Rajiv Sooriyaarachchi told The Sunday Morning newspaper that after this group of 185 tourists arrived, they all underwent quarantine procedures.

This latest Cabinet decision extends a previous waiver implemented in September 2020, which did not affect market conditions due to...

SriLankan Airlines set to issue RFP for two freighters

SriLankan Airlines (UL, Colombo Int'l) will shortly announce a Request for Proposals (RFP) for two dedicated freighters, Chairman Ashok Pathirage told UAE's The National newspaper.

"There's so much cargo business at the moment. Exports have picked up, so there’s huge demand and we want to help the national economy. One lesson learnt from COVID is to not be completely dependent on passenger business and to look for other alternatives," he said.

While SriLankan Airlines does not operate any dedicated freighters, it has aggressively expanded in the cargo market since the COVID-related border closure completely closed its international-only scheduled passenger business. The carrier currently operates one A321-200N, three A330-200s, and six A330-300s on cargo-only flights.

Despite its budding freight ambitions, SriLankan Airlines also hopes to recover and expand its passenger business in the future. Pathirage reaffirmed the airline's plans to turn Colombo Int'l into an international hub connecting Asia-Pacific, the Middle East, and Africa.

Sri Lanka expects to reopen airports to international arrivals in January 2021. The flag carrier hopes...

SriLankan Airlines to launch Maldives-London flights

SriLankan Airlines (UL, Colombo Int'l) will launch 2x weekly services from Malé in the Maldives to London Heathrow to support the struggling tourist sector of its southern neighbour state, Maldivian local daily The Times of Addu has reported.

Flights are scheduled to launch on December 12 and will operate at least through April 13, 2021, the ch-aviation schedules module shows. The airline will use A330-300s on the route. SriLankan Airlines' services will complement 6x weekly flights operated by British Airways (BA, London Heathrow), which are due to restart on December 4.

The route will be SriLankan Airlines' first scheduled fifth-freedom service not touching Sri Lanka. The airline currently operates 5x weekly between Male and Colombo Int'l.

The Maldives reopened to international tourism relatively early, in July 2020, and currently require only a negative PCR test taken less than 96 hours before the flight from arriving passengers. Travellers from all countries are eligible for visas on arrival. However, the flag carrier Maldivian (Q2, Malé) lacks the...