SriLankan Airlines is the flag carrier of Sri Lanka and a member airline of the Oneworld airline alliance. It was launched in 1979 as Air Lanka following the termination of operations of the original Sri Lankan flag carrier Air Ceylon. As of today, it is Sri Lanka’s largest airline by fleet size and number of destinations among local airlines. Its hub is Bandaranaike International Airport.
Following its partial acquisition in 1998 by Emirates, it was re-branded and the current livery was introduced. In 2008, the government of Sri Lanka acquired all the shares of the airline from Emirates.[4] After ending the Emirates partnership, it retained its re-branded name and logo.[5] SriLankan Airlines operates over 560 flights per week across Asia.
SriLankan Airlines joined the Oneworld airline alliance on 1 May 2014.[6]
History
Air Lanka
In 1979, after the removal of airline manager Nimesh Fernando, Sri Lanka's president Jayawardene initially did not interfere after entrusting the airline to Captain Rakitha Wickramanayake and the board of directors consisting of industry officials and managers. The former Prime Minister of Singapore asked, "How could an airline pilot run an airline?" A 1986 Presidential Commission reported on the mismanagement of the board of the airline under President Wijetunga's appointment of a retired General as Chairman/MD with Air Vice Marshals and a UNP attorney as executive directors. None of them knew how to run an airline.[7]
Air Lanka was established as the flag carrier of Sri Lanka once the government shut down the bankrupt Air Ceylon.[8] Air Lanka's initial fleet consisted of two Boeing 707, leased from Singapore Airlines. One Boeing 737 was leased from Maersk Air and maintained by Air Tara. On 24 April 1980, the lease ended; Air Lanka received a replacement Boeing 737 leased from Royal Brunei
Corporate affairs
Business trends
The key trends of SriLankan Airlines (mainline) are as at the financial year ending 31 March:[31]
Headquarters
The company's head office is at Airline Centre, Bandaranaike International Airport, Katunayake.[38]
Subsidiaries
SriLankan Catering is a wholly owned subsidiary of SriLankan Airlines, providing flight catering services to all airlines serving the Bandaranaike International Airport.
Its other businesses include provision of aircraft maintenance and overhaul services,[39]
Destinations
As of January 2026, SriLankan Airlines flies to 35 destinations and 21 countries.[43] Including codeshares with other airlines, it provides services to a total of 114 destinations in 62 countries.[44] Its interline partnerships and membership in Oneworld alliance allow it to offer passengers connectivity to over 1,000 cities in 160 countries.
SriLankan currently operates to 14 destinations in India, more than any other foreign airline. It is also the largest foreign airline in the Maldives, serving two cities.[45]
Alliance
On 11 June 2012, SriLankan Airlines was announced as Oneworld's latest member-elect, on the sidelines of the IATA World Air Transport Summit in Beijing. Cathay Pacific
Fleet
Current fleet
As of January 2026, SriLankan Airlines operates an all-Airbus fleet composed of the following aircraft:[59]
Gallery
Fleet development
The airline received its first Airbus aircraft in 1992; the Airbus A320-200 began flying to destinations in the Maldives, Pakistan, and southern India. The Airbus A340-300 was delivered in 1994. The airline was the first in Asia to use the A340. The Airbus A330-200 aircraft were delivered later.
In 2012, SriLankan Airlines aimed to boost its fleet to 35 aircraft over the next five years and had talks with both Airbus and Boeing regarding a deal.
Livery
Former livery (1979–1998)
Upon its inception in 1979, the airline operated under the name Air Lanka. The original livery featured:
- Fuselage: A "cheatline" design consisting of two parallel red stripes running along the window line against a white upper fuselage
- Titles: The name "AIRLANKA" was printed in bold, above the cheatline towards the front of the aircraft.
- Tail Fin: A solid red and sported the corporate logo, a stylised vimana locally known as Dandu Monara (Flying Peacock Aircraft) of King Ravana of ancient Lanka, Ravana,[68] as per the famous Ramayana mythology. The five "tail feathers" represent the "Five Precepts" (Pancasila) of Buddhism and the three "crown feathers" represent the "Triple Gem" (Buddha, Dhamma, Sangha) of Buddhism. Red reflects the predominant colour in the Sri Lankan national flag, which represents the majority race in the country, the Sinhalese.
Present livery (1999–present)
Services
Cabin
SriLankan offers two classes of service, Business Class and Economy Class. In Business Class, SriLankan offers full flat-bed seats on all of its long haul fleet with Audio Video on Demand (AVOD) facilities. The fully flat bed seat offers a 19.5 inches wide seat that can be reclined into a 180-degree 79 inches long bed. Each seat has a 15-inch personal IFE system. SriLankan's newest fleet additions will feature Thales Avant IFE, which features modern entertainment features and extended business class seats. Its A330-300 fleet presents an all-aisle access seating in a 1-2-1 arrangement on Business Class.[69] On its A320 family fleet, Business class is configured in a 2-2 layout, offering extra reclining seats, each seat with a width of 19 inches and a pitch between 39 and 49 inches.[70]
SriLankan provides in-seat entertainment in Economy class on all its wide-bodied aircraft and the vast majority of narrow-body aircraft. On its A330-300 and A320 family aircraft, all cabin classes are provided with the option of paid-for in-flight internet access and mobile telephony services.
Entertainment
Accidents and incidents
There are no hull losses reported till now, but six aircraft have been destroyed, and all of them have been a result of the civil conflict in Sri Lanka.
1980s
On 3 May 1986, a bomb planted by the terrorist group LTTE exploded on board Flight UL512 before takeoff at Bandaranaike International Airport. The bomb, which had been timed to explode in-flight, went off while the Lockheed L-1011 TriStar aircraft was on the ground, killing 21 of 128 passengers. Officials believe the bomb may have been concealed in crates of meat and vegetables that were being freighted to the Maldives. Other reports believe that the bomb was hidden in the aircraft's 'Fly Away Kit'.
1990s
In 1992, the right landing gear of an Air Lanka Boeing 737-200 (registration 4R-ULL) at Madras Airport (now Chennai International Airport) failed upon landing and the right engine came into contact with the runway. The aircraft pulled to the right and finally came to a stop, with the nose wheel and right wing on the grass to the right of the landing runway. The right engine caught fire – extinguished by the airport safety services – and the 104 passengers and 12 crew evacuated the aircraft via the chutes on the left side without injury. The damage to the aircraft was substantial; the plane was subsequently repaired and sold. The Indian Directorate General of Civil Aviation concluded that "the accident occurred as a result of a failure of the right-hand main landing gear beam during the landing due to pre-existing stress corrosion cracks and pits at its inboard lug hole and higher than normal landing loads contributed to its failure".
Financial fallout
In 1998, Emirates won a proposal to handle the nation's flag airline, Air Lanka. Following that, Emirates rebranded the aging carrier as SriLankan and modernised its fleet with contemporary Airbus A330 aircraft. Emirates obtained ten years of management rights as part of the equity purchase. It later sold its ownership in the carrier for US$53 million, resulting in a nearly US$20 million loss.[88]
Sri Lanka currently has no bankruptcy protection act, and the only option for a closedown would be a complete liquidation. If the Government liquidates the airline, it will be compelled to write off this debt to the state banks and the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC). This could raise significant concerns about the two-state banks' liquidity by foreign rating agencies and could seriously jeopardise the prospects of Sri Lanka's entire banking sector. The Government as the guarantor would also be called upon for immediate repayment of the international bond worth US$175 million.[89]
Should that occur, aircraft rent payments would no longer be made, the risk premium for airlines leasing aircraft in Sri Lanka would increase, making the country an unappealing base for a carrier. However, this would be good news for Airbus, which currently faces a more than US$1 billion claim for the airline over the A330 and A350 transactions for 2013.
Controversies
In March 2015, a report was released following a Board of Inquiry investigation into corruption at SriLankan during the time it was under the chairmanship of Nishantha Wickramasinghe. The Board has reported that corruption was widespread and confirmed the allegations of Nishantha Wickramasinghe's affairs.[95] However, the Mahinda Rajapaksa Information Centre denied the allegations and accused the report of being biased and invalid, accusing the head of the committee of publicly supporting the current government in the elections and lacking technical knowledge about the aviation industry. It further claimed that he had been bribed to submit such a report as a publicity stunt to humiliate the previous government and that most of the points within it were untrue.[96] The airline's short-lived Air-Taxi service and its mismanagement was found to have caused the loss of millions of dollars to the airline.[96]
In October 2015, the Presidential Commission of Inquiry to Investigate and Inquire into Serious Acts of Fraud, Corruption and Abuse of Power, State Resources and Privileges (PRECIFAC) attempted to summon Wickramasinghe to inquire about various irregularities in the airline; however, they were unable to locate him, and his wife claimed he had not come home for three years and that she was unaware of his whereabouts. Later, he notified PRECIFAC that he was abroad and was unable to give a statement.[97]
Potential privatisation
Following the economic crisis of 2022, the Sri Lankan government has been exploring approaches to privatising several state-owned companies including SriLankan Airlines. In 2023, the Sri Lankan government set up the 'State-Owned Enterprise Restructuring Unit' (SRU) under the Ministry of Finance to assist in the privatisation of state-owned companies such as SriLankan Airlines.[105]
An entity linked to AirAsia is among six entities accepted by Sri Lanka's State-Owned Enterprises Restructuring Unit (SRU) to bid for SriLankan Airlines. The government, which owns 99.52% of the airline, is selling a majority stake. The other entities include FitsAir, Dharshaan Elite Investment Holding Ltd., Sherisha Technologies Ltd., Hayleys PLC, and Treasure Republic Guardians Ltd.
AirAsia Consulting Sdn. Bhd., the consulting arm of AirAsia, is the only one with ties to a major airline. FitsAir is a Sri Lankan low-cost carrier, while Hayleys PLC is an established conglomerate.
The SRU will evaluate the RfQs based on specific guidelines, and participation doesn't guarantee bidding rights. The government will take on LKR100 billion rupees (US$332.6 million) of SriLankan Airlines' debt, while a US$175 million international bond remains the airline's responsibility.
See also
- Colombo Marathon, SriLankan Airlines is a sponsor of this primary marathon of Sri Lanka
- Mihin Lanka, a former government-owned low-fare leisure airline
- Bandaranaike International Airport, SriLankan Airlines' hub
External links
References
- Roger Thiedeman. A foundation in the sky 7 December 1997, retrieved 11 May 2018^
- Contact Us- Contact SriLankan Airlines srilankan.com, retrieved 2018-04-16^
- Sarath Ganegoda new Chairman at SriLankan Airlines Daily FT, 10 October 2024, retrieved 10 October 2024