Govt. to infuse US$ 500mn to SriLankan Airlines as equity

• It’s slated to come as part of an annual budgetary allocation
• Airline’s revenues dropped to Rs.44.2 bn during the year through February 2021

The government will infuse as much as US$ 500 million to SriLankan Airlines during the next five years adding the much required capital to the national carrier, which is undergoing restructuring since last year, while retaining control under the State. 

The equity infusion is slated to come as part of an annual budgetary allocation to the airline to help it turnaround as a profitable airline and to finally de-list itself from the entities on constant budget support. 

The airline’s revenues slumped to Rs.44.2 billion during the year through February 2021 from Rs.180.2 billion generated in the previous year as the airline was forced to ground its flights for months due to border closures triggered by the pandemic last year, derailing the restructuring exercise which set off under the new management spearheaded by businessman Ashok Pathirage, the Chairman and CEO of the Softlogic group.