State-run SriLankan Airlines has lost 1,960 million rupees in the 7 months to October 2024, reversing 4,133 million profit posted a year ago, a Finance Ministry report said.
SriLankan Airlines’ ‘net traffic revenue fell 14.9 percent to 152.32 billion rupees from April to October 2024, against 178,818 a year ago, the report said.
To “safeguard the national carrier” the government has made a 9.8 billion rupee equity injection to support “ongoing cash flow problems” in 2024.
In a budget for 2025, President Anura Dissanayake said a 20 billion rupees will be handed out to the national carrier to settle legacy debt and interest.
SriLankan and Qatar were the only carriers that served Sri Lanka during a coronavirus crisis.
The airline was also hit by an economic crisis triggered by central bank rate cuts, and it faced difficulties in repairing engines of A320 NEO aircraft which were grounded over a technical problem related to the type.
