SriLankan Airlines (UL, Colombo International) paid LKR18.8 billion rupees (USD116 million) for cancelling an order for four A350-900s between 2015 and 2017, Head of Financial Management Yasantha Dissanayake told a Sri Lankan Presidential Commission of Inquiry.

The sum includes forfeited deposits and penalties for cancellation.

The Island reported that the flag carrier took out two loans with domestic banks to cover the penalty, including a USD32.5 million loan from Bank of Ceylon and uSD35 million loan from Peoples Bank. SriLankan has not yet repaid either of the credit facilities.

The penalty accounted for roughly one-third of SriLankan's total losses in financial years 2014/15, 2015/16, and 2016/17. In these three years, the carrier lost a total of LKR57 billion rupees (USD351.6 million).

The then management of SriLankan Airlines placed an order for eight Airbus widebody twinjets in 2013. In 2016, its new management decided to cancel orders for four of these aircraft. The remaining four are still on order with Airbus, although the carrier has been reported to be looking at delaying and possibly cancelling this order, as well.

The carrier's widebody fleet currently encompasses six A330-200s and seven A330-300s.