Sri Lanka’s national carrier to improve efficiency of SriLankan Airlines Cargo
Sri Lanka’s national carrier, SriLankan Airlines, is reportedly looking at breaking up its existing cargo terminal space at the Katunayake International Airport into separate dedicated areas to handle different types of cargo to improve efficiency.
“We have two terminals –we are trying to maximize their use,” Chamara Ranasinghe, Head of Cargo at SriLankan Air Cargo has been quoted as saying.
“Initially, in the next financial year what we are trying to do is break the terminal space into three dedicated areas,” the local media has quoted him as saying at the ‘German-Sri Lankan Logistic Conference 2019’ organised by the Delegation of German Industry and Commerce in Sri Lanka.
“We are considering different areas to handle general dry cargo, a cold chain operation for perishable and sensitive cargo and probably a courier centre might also be needed, taking into consideration the e-commerce business.”
Ranasinghe has further stated that the airline, the monopoly ground handler, may even look at taking one part of its cargo operation to an offsite location as done abroad, given space restriction at existing terminals.
“From the cargo point of view we definitely have plans to increase infrastructure facilities.”
OSL take:
Sri Lanka’s airport and aviation industry is currently undergoing a facelift with the government of Sri Lanka giving prominence to the development and upliftment of the country’s airports, including the main international airport in the island. Sri Lanka’s national carrier is also undergoing a restructuring programme. The airline is also on the lookout for a foreign investor to form a joint venture operation for the airline. Sri Lanka’s geographical positioning in the Indian Ocean region, the ease of doing business environment and the strong trade ties with foreign nations have made Sri Lanka the ideal business destination in the South Asian region. All this indicate the growing business/investment potential in Sri Lanka’s airport and aviation industry.
| Article Code : | VBS/AT/01092019/Z_2 |