SriLankan airlines unsatisfactory maintenance forced outsourcing costs

Colombo (News 1st) - Providing evidence before the Presidential Commission of Inquiry on irregularities at SriLankan Airlines, SriLankan Catering and Mihin Lanka today (October 17), Manager of Training and Standards at Sri Lankan Airlines Anura Bandara Gallalle stated that the company was compelled to outsource certain maintenance operations to foreign companies, due to non compliance of standard industry practices. Gallalle’s testimony revealed that in June 2017, maintenance activities at Sri Lankan Airlines were not considered satisfactory by the European Aviation Safety Agency, forcing the airlines to surrender their certification until deemed fit to execute base maintenance activities. The witness revealed that this certification was important for the leasing of aircraft, as conditions of the lesser must be met in accordance with EASA regulations. This was not the first time the airlines failed to comply with industry standards. In the year 2016, the European Aviation Safety Agency had reported a number of repetitive discrepancies in demonstrating compliance, staff competency, and maintenance of aircraft. In June 2014, it was deemed by the European Aviation Safety Agency, that Sri Lankan Airlines did not comprise of sufficient facilities for the painting of large areas of aircraft due to the nonavailability of an aircraft hangar door. According to the witness, the construction of a hangar door was a cost too large for the airlines to bear and the painting operations were outsourced to Etihad Airways. News 1st reported in July last year, that the national carrier, had delayed returning an Airbus A320 Aircraft to Air Indigo Airlines, which resulted in a penalty fee of 1.523 million US dollars or a staggering 236 million rupees. It was this aircraft that was sent to Indonesia on the 16th of April last year for maintenance purposes, that incurred another 75,000 US Dollars.