SriLankan Airlines is likely to face a severe shortage of experienced staff as the State-Owned Enterprise has refused to increase its salaries and other remuneration to discourage many from leaving, The Sunday Morning learns.
It is reliably learnt that around 30 pilots have tendered their resignations over the past several months, with other employees including those from ground handling, engineering, and air crew leaving at an alarming rate, posing challenges for sustaining operations and the airline’s survival.
According to sources close to the matter, the Government is waiting for the airline’s restructuring, which is currently underway. It is also expecting interest from possible investors, pre-restructuring. However, the company has questioned whether the restructuring process would commence soon even if an investor was finalised, as it could take at least a year to perform the initial analysis after the finalisation of the investor.
Highly-placed sources confirmed to The Sunday Morning that the issues faced by SriLankan Airlines had been discussed at a meeting between SriLankan Airlines Chief Executive Officer Ashok Pathirage and Ports, Shipping, and Aviation Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva, but the meeting had been futile as the Minister had not acceded to Pathirage’s requests.
It is learnt that Pathirage had requested the Minister to grant the allowances payable to staff during the Covid-19 period and to increase the salaries of pilots. However, the Minister had rejected the requests, claiming that salaries of other staff members too would have to be increased if pilot salaries were increased and that such an investment in the company was impossible given its financial position.
However, Pathirage had informed the Minister that he would discuss the matter with the pilots, to which the Minister had responded that since it was a company decision, he could not oppose it. The Minister had stressed the importance of speedily opting for an aggressive restructuring process.
Safety concerns and additional expenses
In such a backdrop, serious concerns have been raised over the operations of the airline due to several complaints by passengers about the poor condition of its services, including the food served on board, in addition to the series of technical faults and flight delays reported over the past several months.
The Sunday Morning learns that the company had to bear lodging expenses for passengers whose flights had been delayed or cancelled due to several issues, including technical faults, over the past months.
Attempts by The Sunday Morning to uncover the precise value of these additional expenses were futile as officials refused to divulge financial information.
However, Sri Lanka Nidahas Sevaka Sangamaya (SLNSS) SriLankan Airlines Branch General Secretary Janaka Pathirathne stated that the airline’s expenditure on lodging and other facilities for passengers whose flights had been cancelled or delayed had increased drastically over the past few months, compared to previous years.
According to Pathirathne, the main reason for the delays, cancellations, and technical faults was the lack of sufficient aircraft. “At present, we only have around 18 aircraft and we have to wait for aircraft to be transferred and grounded following the end of a tour. A minimum of one hour of grounding time is sufficient for the initial mandatory maintenance required after a trip,” he said, adding that the delay in recruiting aircraft led to a delay in flights as well. If we can get at least two aircraft, we would be able to manage the situation,” Pathirathne said.
He also noted that there was a serious labour shortage within the airline as there was a massive demand worldwide for aviation sector experts.
“We came to know that nearly 30 pilots had tendered their resignations. Even minor staff, crew members, and ground handling staff have left the airline during the past several months. It is up to the Government to stem the brain drain. Due to the limited number of professionals working in the aviation industry, such departures are keenly felt,” he stressed.
Nevertheless, as learnt by The Sunday Morning, when the employee shortage was discussed at the meeting held between the SriLankan CEO and the Minister, the Minister had noted that the management would be able to handle the operations with existing employees given the reduced number of aircraft in operation as well as flights.
Recent incidents
In such a backdrop, concerns have also been raised with regard to the safety of passengers travelling on the airline due to several incidents reported during the past few months.
As previously reported by The Sunday Morning, on 8 April, UL 225 to Dubai was forced to make an emergency landing in Sri Lanka in about an hour and 10 minutes after takeoff. This was after the flight’s departure was delayed by 10 hours due to technical issues. The emergency landing was due to a cracked windscreen.
On 14 April, flight UL 605 was delayed for over 30 hours in Melbourne due to technical issues and a special team had to be flown out to Melbourne from Colombo to address the issue. On 21 April, flight UL 225 enroute to Dubai had to turn around mid-flight. It dumped fuel to reduce weight and landed back at Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA).
Another incident was reported last week where a SriLankan flight that left BIA on Wednesday night (28) for Japan’s Narita International Airport was forced to return to BIA due to a sudden technical fault. Tokyo-bound SriLankan Airlines flight UL 454 had departed BIA at 8.20 p.m. and landed safely at BIA two hours and 25 minutes after departure.
The aircraft was the largest A330-300 Airbus owned by SriLankan Airlines. The flight was carrying 301 people on board, including passengers and crew members.
It is reported that due to the failure of the computer system to indicate that the wheel system of the aircraft was tilting properly, the pilot had taken steps to return to BIA as a precautionary measure and ensure the safety of everyone on board.
SriLankan explains
However, the airline clarified these incidents and assured the safety of travellers. It stated that it had been managing with a reduced fleet of 15 as opposed to the intended 18 aircraft over the last two months, which had impacted its flight schedule and on-time performance.
However, the situation is expected to improve by mid-July.
SriLankan had forecasted an aircraft shortage factoring in scheduled lease expirations, but the actual shortage was worsened by several unforeseen events. This includes the prolonged time taken to complete annual ‘C’ checks on two SriLankan Airlines aircraft due to the unavailability of components locally and the ongoing shortage of engines for Airbus A320neo aircraft in the global marketplace, the latter which had caused 350 aircraft to be grounded worldwide.
As stated by the airline, it also had to delay the procurement process for new leases, which had been due last year, in view of the country’s economic situation.
July is expected to bring positive change by way of a short-term lease extension for an aircraft that was supposed to be returned, four replacement engines for Airbus A320neo aircraft on ground, and the arrival of a newly-leased Airbus A330, all of which would bump the fleet to about 20 aircraft.
The airline said it had only cancelled a small number of flights to date, including the widely-reported flight to South Korea, due to the sudden unavailability of scheduled crew and replacements.
“SriLankan Airlines is aware that it must increase the technical crew numbers in line with the planned expansion of its fleet. The airline is already training new cadet pilots and is in the process of hiring pilots, having advertised both locally and internationally,” the airline said.
The airline also noted that with regard to technical crew numbers, 57 pilot resignations had been recorded from early 2021 to now, including some early retirements, adding that a few more exits could be anticipated. Prior to the pandemic, SriLankan employed 320 pilots for a fleet of 27 aircraft. The airline has 257 pilots at present, a number sufficient to meet its operational requirements of a reduced fleet and keep average crew flying hours well within global standards, as per the airline.
CEO on record
However, when The Sunday Morning contacted SriLankan CEO Pathirage, he stressed that the airline had managed through the worst periods and that the issue was the lack of aircraft.
“Four aircraft have engine problems due to a manufacturing issue, which is a global issue. We have had discussions and two engines are to come. We are halfway through a tendering process to procure some aircraft and we expect five to 10 aircraft within the next six months,” Pathirage said.
Highlighting the incidents of technical faults, delays, and cancellations, Pathirage stressed that these were normal incidents in any airline.
“Such things happen every day even with Singapore Airlines, Emirates, or any other airline; we can’t stop such incidents. These incidents are being highlighted by the media so everyone is looking at SriLankan Airlines. However, such incidents are just normal,” he said, adding that the airline had plenty of demand, which had caused the delays.
“We will find a way. Our people love the airline. I am working with 11 unions and they are very supportive,” he said.
Commenting on the restructuring process, Pathirage stressed that the process was currently ongoing.
“Privatisation of an airline isn’t going to happen overnight. The process has to be followed in a transparent manner. Such transactions take time. It’s not even a listed organisation. When proposals are called, they have to be shortlisted and due diligence has to be done. Due diligence alone takes a fair amount of time. I suppose they are following the process,” he said.
Pathirage assured the safety of the aircraft, pointing out that SriLankan Airlines had no record of aircraft accidents over past decades.
When contacted by The Sunday Morning, the Airline Pilots’ Guild of Sri Lanka declined to comment on the developments, following the statement issued by the guild last week regarding the issues it faced.