Mihin Lanka starts first route to Pakistan

Mihin Lanka on 17 November began operating thrice-weekly (Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays) on the 2,755-kilometre route between Colombo (CMB) and Lahore (LHE) in Pakistan. No other carrier serves the route, which will be flown by the airline’s A320s. This winter will see the LCC operate eight routes from its base at Colombo. Apart from Lahore, the airline is offering non-stop flights this winter from the Sri Lankan capital to Bahrain, Dhaka (Bangladesh), Jakarta (Indonesia), Madurai (India), Medan (Indonesia), Seychelles and Sharjah (UAE).
anna.aero

Flight Validation for Pilots Course

The opening ceremony of the Flight Validation for Pilots Course was held at “Liberty Arcade” on 17th November under the patronage of Mr. Parakrama Dissanayake, Acting Director General of Civil Aviation.
The programme will be conducted by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Asia Pacific Flight Procedure Programme based on the request made by the Civil Aviation Authority of Sri Lanka (CAASL) to ICAO. The duration of this programme is three weeks.
The purpose of this course is to train the pilots in flight validation of Performance Based Navigation (PBN) flight procedures developed by Flight Procedure Designers. At present SL does not have any of the qualified Flight Validation Pilots.
CAASL will be hosting this event and participants from 5 States China, Thailand, Maldives, Philippines, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka are participating at the training programme.
Performance Based Navigation is a new Navigation Method based on GPS and equipment on board aircraft. Implementation of this Navigation Method brings significant benefits in improved safety, operational efficiencies and cleaner, quieter environment.
As per ICAO requirements states are required to implement PBN in line with Regional PBN implementation plan and the implementation of PBN has to be completed by 2016.
news.lk

SriLankan Airlines starts operations to Kunming

SriLankan Airlines, the national carrier of Sri Lanka and a member of the oneworld alliance, in a move to meet the increasing demands for air services between China and Sri Lanka will be initiating operations to Kunming on December 1, 2014.
The national carrier currently operates a total of 15 weekly flights to Beijing, Shanghai, Canton and Hong Kong and with this initiative, will be marking its presence in the South-western China as well. Known as “the City of Eternal Spring,” Kunming is the capital and the largest city in Yunnan Province of South West China. The city is home to several universities, museums, galleries and other important economic, cultural, and educational institutions, making it a popular destination among both leisure and business travellers.
Accordingly, SriLankan will be operating three weekly flights, departing Colombo on Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 1835 hrs, and arriving in Kunming at 0150 hrs. The flight will depart Kunming at 0255 hrs to arrive in Colombo at 0545 hrs. Passengers will also get the opportunity to enjoy the relaxing ambience and easy reclining seating on board SriLankan Airlines’A320 aircraft that will be operated on the route.
In April this year, SriLankan Airlines started operating eight direct flights a week to Beijing and Shanghai and out of which four flights operate via the Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport.

Bloggers enjoyed their scenic flight with Cinnamon Air

Cinnamon Air, Sri Lanka’s premier domestic airline organized a scenic flight forthe bloggers came around the world to participate at the first ever Travel Bloggers Conference 2014.Cinnamon Hotel, SriLankan AirLines and the Bloggers, SL were organized the event.

Cinnamon Air introduces southern route

Cinnamon Air, introduced a new route, from Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) to the Bentota River water aerodrome, recently.
Daily scheduled flights depart from BIA at 10:00 am to reach Bentota at 10:25 am. Return flights depart Bentota at 12 noon and arrive at BIA twenty five minutes later.
Apart from these flights, Cinnamon Air also operates daily scheduled flights from its exclusive domestic terminal at BIA and Colombo City (Waters Edge in Colombo) to popular destinations like Koggala, Batticaloa and Passikudah, Trincomalee, Sigiriya, Kandy, Dikwella and now Bentota.
Flights to these other scheduled destinations can be combined with scheduled flights to and from Bentota, with a brief stopover at BIA before proceeding onwards, providing clients with a time-effective and stress-free travel option for excursions from Bentota to other parts of the island.
dailynews.lk  

Sri Lanka tourist arrivals surpasses 1.2 million with 13.6% rise in Oct.

Sri Lanka’s tourist arrivals rose by 13.6 percent in October compared to the same period in 2013 to surpass 1.2 million arrivals this year, the data released by the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA) showed.

The month recorded 121,576 tourists arriving in the country compared to the 90,339 arrived in October 2013.

In the first ten months of this year a total of 1,228,754 tourists arrived in the island recording a 21.5 percent increase from the 1,011,255 arrivals during the corresponding period in 2013.

Most of the tourist arrivals were from Western Europe with 387,215 tourists visiting in the first ten months of this year recording a 13.8 percent increase over corresponding 2013 figures. For the month of October 32,061 tourists, 10.1% more than October 2013, arrived in the island.

colombopage.com

SriLankan Airlines launches new A330-300 with a Non-Stop service to London

National carrier, SriLankan Airlines began commercial operations on its newly acquired Airbus 330-300 with a direct non-stop service to London on Sunday November 09th.
SriLankan Airlines flight UL505 departed from Katunayake at 0225 am local time on en-route to London Heathrow airport, returning to Colombo at 0440 am on Monday 10th November.
The brand new A330-300, the first of seven such aircraft on order from Airbus was inducted to SriLankan’s fleet last month, launching its wide body fleet renewal and replacement programme with the aim of reducing costs, improving operational efficiencies and providing an enhanced product offering to customers.
We will deploy the new A330-300s primarily on Far-Eastern routes including Bangkok, Tokyo and Chinese cities of Canton and Beijing said Chief Operations Officer, SriLankan Airlines Captain Druvi Perera.

Civil Aviation Authority earns No 1 slot in South Eastern Asia!

Civil Aviation Minister Piyankara Jayaratne said in Parliament today that the Lankan Civil Aviation Authority achieved the ‍ place in Asia and number one place in South East Asia by implementing regulations on civil aviation safety management.
The Minister said so while participating in the third reading stage of debate on budget 2015 under the expenditure heads of the Ministries of Civil Aviation and Highways, Ports and Shipping.
Minister Jayaratne said: “We are hoping to develop domestic airports in the country. SriLankan Airline is moving ahead in accordance with a five-year plan targeting to decrease the losses. We would soon be connecting with several other international airlines. Several rounds of talks had been held in this regard with few countries including Australia. The loss incurring period of the Mihin Lanka airline has come to an end. It is earning profits now. We are planning to purchase new aircrafts to strengthen the fleet of flights. SriLankan Airline has earned accolades in international forums. We are continuing fast till we achieve the target of converting Sri Lanka into the aviation hub of Asia,” the Minister added. (Special Reporter/HC)
news.lk

Diploma in Aviation Studies Programme – 4th Intake

The inauguration of the Diploma in Aviation Studies programme for the 4th intake was held at the auditorium of the Civil Aviation Training Centre (CATC), Ratmalana on 14 October 2014.
The newly enrolled students were ceremonially handed their letters of studentship and student record books at the ceremony. Parents of the students were also present.

BIA is ready to handle 15 million passengers by year 2017

The committee stage debate of the civil aviation commenced at the parliament yesterday.  Joining the debate, Minister Priyankara Jayaratne said the Katunayake airport has become the busiest airport of the Asia.  Its passenger handling capacity is to be increased up to 15 million by year 2017.

The second phase of its development process will begin April next year.  Furthermore, the ministry of civil aviation has planned to take five thousand flights to Mattala which is Sri Lanka’s second international airport.  In addition, several domestic airports namely, Rathmalana, Batticaloa, Sigiriya and Nuwara Eliya will be developed.

Katunayake Airport strike called off

Strike by SLFP trade union at BIA called off after discussions with the Minister of Civil Aviation and other related authorities.
The members of the Airport & Aviation Union affiliated to the ruling party at the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) have resorted to a strike action since this morning claiming that the relevant parties have failed to provide adequate solutions to several shortcomings within the authority.

Katunayake BIA workers launch strike! power, telephone lines cut

As 4000 employees at the Bandaranaike International Airport had protested asking for five demands. They had broken power lines and telephone lines the work at BIA has come to a standstill.

The strike was launched over demands pertaining to several issues including employee salaries, not being met by authorities. According to reports, operations at the Katunayake International Airport have been disrupted due to the strike.

However, the BIA operation manager has told media that there has been no delay in arrivals and departures of flights to and from Sri Lanka due to the strike. (Photo: Lankadeepa)

SriLankan takes delivery of first A330-300 with Thales AVANT In-Flight Entertainment

Thales announces that SriLankan Airlines’ new A330-300 will be equipped with the Thales AVANT system. With this milestone, SriLankan Airlines becomes the first to take delivery of Thales’s latest generation system for the Airbus A330.
The airline’s class cabin, business and economy, offers passengers the best cabin services including large interactive displays, in-seat power, USB connection for mobile devices, and for business class, the award winning Touch Passenger Media Unit for a second screen experience.
“Our new A330 aircraft is aligned every way to suit the needs of the modern-day traveler. At SriLankan Airlines we have carefully designed this full featured aircraft for a greater customer experience. We are very pleased to have on-board the latest Thales AVANT In-Flight Entertainment,” said SriLankan Airlines Chief Executive Officer, Mr.Kapila Chandrasena.

SriLankan Airlines takes Delivery of New A330-300…

In a major milestone signifying the beginning of a new era, national carrier SriLankan Airlines’ new Airbus A330-300 touched down at the Bandaranaike International Airport in Katunayake, to a ceremonial welcome at an event attended by the Deputy Minister of Civil Aviation Chairman of SriLankan Airlines, Aviation officials, Corporates, Diplomats, members of the clergy and eager employees.
The new wide body A330-300 aircraft with its superior inflight features and comfort, advanced technological features and enhanced fuel efficiency joins SriLankan’s existing Airbus wide-body fleet of A330-200 and A340-300 aircraft.