Right of Reply SriLankan Airlines statement on Daily Mirror article ‘SriLankan Airlines whistleblower exposes massive financial leakages’

SriLankan Airlines wishes to clarify the misleading claims made in the Daily Mirror article titled ‘SriLankan Airlines whistleblower exposes massive financial leakages’, published on April 23, 2026.

Referring to the press release issued by SriLankan Airlines on April 16, 2026, the individual referred to as a whistleblower, Amitabh Anthonypillai, Country Manager – Thailand, is presently under suspension from work, following a serious incident occurred on April 2, 2026, at Suvarnabhumi International Airport, Bangkok. 

His actions were found to be unlawful, unwarranted and in breach of company rules and regulations, resulting in his immediate suspension and being recalled to Sri Lanka.

A General Sales Agent (GSA) is a locally appointed partner that represents an airline in markets where an airline does not operate a direct office, providing sales infrastructure and human resource support while driving sales and revenue for the airline, including through the Internet Booking Engine (IBE) channel. 

Overriding Commission (ORC) is the mechanism through which an airline compensates a GSA for maintaining this infrastructure, manpower and market development support. Such arrangements are standard across the global airline industry.

SriLankan Airlines appoints GSAs through a structured, board‑approved governance framework to ensure strong market representation, revenue growth and alignment with the overall company objectives.

Addressing the claims made in the article regarding ORC, such arrangements are standard practice across the global airline industry, with payouts applied to the overall flown revenue generated from a given point of sale. 

Regular reviews of the ORC structures indicated that several leading airlines include the IBE sales within the ORCs in selected markets. Accordingly, SriLankan Airlines reinstated the ORCs, inclusive of the IBE, as part of a broader cost‑optimisation strategy. 

In determining the ORC percentages for a specific territory, qualifying factors such as IBE sales performance, interline and codeshare revenue potential and other strategic market considerations are taken into account. The planned objective was to establish a strong IBE foundation to achieve optimal penetration levels that reduce the distribution costs. 

Based on various successful initiatives, the airline was able to reduce the total ORC payout over the years while maintaining the overall cost efficiency and revenue performance. 

Furthermore, referring to the article published in the Daily Mirror, the claims of abuse of authority and suppression of officers are incorrect. SriLankan Airlines operates under multiple layers of independent checks and balances, supported by a strong audit and governance framework. 

All key decisions are closely scrutinised to prevent misuse of authority and swift action is taken against any individual engaged in misconduct that harms the airline or its reputation or acting not in the best interest of the airline.