SriLankan Airlines calls on Pilots’ Guild to put ‘country first’

• Board, management, dedicated employees of the airline vehemently condemn untimely and selfish actions of the ALPG 
• Airline says request made to relevant authorities for dedicated treatment facility for ALPG members who test positive for COVID-19, hopeful it will be made available soon
• National carrier claims ALPG has forced members to resort to unacceptable action by refraining from reporting to work on rostered off-days, refusing duty calls, being unresponsive to calls from the company

Sri Lankan Airlines yesterday called on the Airline Pilots' Guild (ALPG) to put the ‘country first’, whilst vehemently condemning their untimely and selfish actions.  

Issuing a statement, the national carrier said the Board and the Management of the airline are thoroughly disappointed that one segment of the Airline’s employees are intentionally undermining the efforts of the rest of the committed and valuable employees of the company and the determination of the Government.

“Therefore, jointly, the Board, Management and dedicated employees of the airline vehemently condemn these untimely and selfish actions of the ALPG,” the statement said.

The grievance of the ALPG is that the airline provides them with a dedicated treatment facility for members who test positive for COVID-19. 

“The airline has requested such a facility from the relevant authorities and is hopeful that a facility would be made available soon,” the statement said.   

SriLankan Airlines pointed out that the airline has been adopting ad-hoc flight schedules due to the pandemic, in addition to responding swiftly to the needs of the Government in relation to repatriation of Sri Lankans and the transportation of cargo as and when required. 

“This necessitates all employees of the airline to report to work on short notice in accordance with the guidelines stipulated by authorities for the prevention of COVID-19. The precautionary measures taken, and the required personal protective equipment always provided by the airline have protected the employees when they were on duty,” the statement said.

The national carrier has also relied on the support of the Government to get through this difficult period, and the Government led by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has unhesitatingly extended necessary funds despite the budgetary and fiscal challenges faced by the Government. 

“Therefore, it is the utmost duty of the employees to support the Government in their efforts to rebuild the country. The employees of SriLankan Airlines have endured many hardships since the onset of the pandemic from having to work in a tough and unpredictable working environment, whilst foregoing a percentage of their income in salary cuts. It is against this stressful backdrop that members of the executive committee of the ALPG have decided to act in a self-centred manner, not only causing severe disruptions to the Airline’s operations, but jeopardising the airline as well as the development efforts of the country,” the statement said.

The airline claims that the ALPG has forced members to resort to unacceptable action by refraining from consenting to report to work on rostered off-days by refusing the duty call or being unresponsive to calls from the company.

SriLankan Airlines has been supporting the national economy and country since the closure of the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) in mid-March 2020 with the outbreak of COVID-19 by flying stranded Sri Lankans home and facilitating international trade by maintaining the vital link between Sri Lanka and the rest of the world.  

Almost the entire fleet of the airline was grounded due to the closure of airports and travel restrictions imposed by various countries in the past nine months. As a result, the airline has had to cope with unprecedented revenue losses owing to the reduced number of flights being operated, namely for repatriation of fellow citizens and transportation of essential goods including medical supplies.