The recently elected Sri Lankan president has confirmed SriLankan Airlines (UL, Colombo International) will remain state-owned, drawing a line under another failed attempt to privatise or partially privatise the heavily-indebted carrier.
“President Anura Kumara Dissanayake has instructed that the airline should be an institution that all Sri Lankans are proud of and should be owned by Sri Lankans,” SriLankan Airlines chairman Sarath Ganegoda told TTG Asia.
The left-leaning Anura Kumara Dissanayake from the National People's Party won September's presidential election on a platform that included promises to overturn efforts by the then-incumbent government to privatise many state-owned enterprises, including the national carrier, at the behest of the IMF.
The former president, Ranil Wickremesinghe, oversaw an unsuccessful attempt to sell a majority stake in SriLankan Airlines. Earlier this year, the government whittled down responses to an expression of interest campaign to a shortlist of six applicants but later decided none of the shortlisted parties could run SriLankan. Instead, the government decided to pursue an alternative divestment path for the airline. However, between that decision and the election, Wickremesinghe's government never articulated what that path would be, eventually deciding to make a decision after the election.
SriLankan Airlines reported a net profit of LKR1.124 billion rupees (USD3.8 million) in the nine months to December 2023. However, the airline labours under high debt levels and a hard currency shortage. Sri Lanka's economic woes, including a weak local currency, add to an already complex operating environment for the airline.
According to ch-aviation PRO airlines data, SriLankan Airlines flies to 37 airports in 21 countries with a fleet of 22 aircraft, including seven A320-200s, two (one inactive) A320-200Ns, four (two inactive) A321-200Ns, two A330-200s, and seven (one inactive) A330-300s.
