JVP-affiliated union hits out at SriLankan Airlines chairman’s appointment

• Claims President was misled by wrong recommendations to appoint Dimal Arandara despite pending Bribery Commission complaints
• Warns internal leadership flaws could completely derail external restructuring efforts led by Dr. Hans Wijayasuriya

The Inter-Company Employees Union of SriLankan Airlines, a trade union affiliated with the ruling Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), has publicly condemned the permanent appointment of Dimal Arandara as the Chairman of the national carrier. 

The union strongly warned that the President was likely misled into making this ‘controversial’ appointment, a move they argue threatens the airline’s future stability and could entirely derail the government’s critical restructuring efforts for the heavily indebted state-owned enterprise.

Addressing a press conference in Colombo last week, the union expressed deep concern over the national carrier’s leadership direction, specifically citing allegations of past misconduct associated with the new appointee. 

The union members stressed that for a financially battered institution to recover, clean and transparent internal leadership is an absolute necessity. To put the airline’s distress into perspective, recent Finance Ministry data revealed that SriLankan Airlines’ accumulated losses had widened to a staggering Rs. 631.5 billion by the end of August 2025. The airline group recorded a net loss of Rs. 12.6 billion during the first five months of the 2025/26 financial year alone, largely driven by massive foreign exchange losses and heavy finance costs, further weakening its balance sheet.

“We have a problem believing that someone whose name is linked to fraud and corruption will stand against fraud and corruption at SriLankan Airlines,” said SriLankan Airlines branch of the Inter-Company Employees Union President Nisal Adhikari. “The main reason SriLankan Airlines was destroyed was due to corruption. Appointing an individual with complaints pending at the Bribery Commission as the Chairman is unacceptable to us as employees.”

The union representatives speculated that the national leadership may not have been fully apprised of the ground reality before greenlighting the appointment. Adhikari made a direct plea to the government, noting, “We suspect the President was given inaccurate background information or was deliberately misled by wrong recommendations to make this appointment. We urge the President to reconsider this decision, as this is not a suitable choice for the institution or the country.”

The fierce opposition to the new Chairman comes at a critical time when the government has launched a high-powered restructuring committee led by Senior Presidential Advisor Dr. Hans Wijayasuriya to chart a financially viable path for the airline. 

“We have absolutely no issue with the restructuring committee and Dr. Hans Wijayasuriya being appointed to it; that is exactly what should happen,” Adhikari explained. “However, the restructuring is done by an external entity. When they come in, there must be a highly capable, clean Chairman inside the airline to execute those plans. If the Chairman is tied to past corruption, addressing those very leaks becomes impossible.”

Adding to the operational instability is the prolonged vacancy in the airline’s executive leadership. The union highlighted that the absence of a permanent Chief Executive Officer for nearly a year has left a considerable vacuum in decision-making, allowing financial mismanagement to continue unchecked. Adhikari cited ongoing financial leaks, including a recently reported Rs. 85 million loss in Chennai operations, as a direct consequence of this leadership void. (NF)