National civil aviation policy

Ever since the first aircraft was conceptualised by Leonardo Da Vinci, the dream of flight is still continuously evolving. The latest aircraft is known as the dream liner Boeing 787.

There has been no end to the technological advances in aviation. The global aviation industry has since been enlarged into a multibillion dollar business and the industry has been subdivided into passenger transportation, aircraft manufacturing both civil and military, cargo operations, airport operations, space vehicles, and other aviation-related industries.

The cost of infrastructure needed to cater to aviation industry is massive and often a country like Sri Lanka would find it extremely difficult unless equity participation from commercial enterprises is tapped.

The safety of passenger transportation is regulated by international laws and conventions and all airports of the world and the airlines too must comply with international safety laws/conventions in place. It has now become the responsibility of each signatory to the conventions that adequate regulatory mechanisms are in place to enforce the compliance.

In order to comply it must spend money to bring the airlines and airports in line with the safety regulations. This would entail procuring state of the art equipments and services to upgrade the systems. Given the current economic outlook it would be a massive task for Sri Lanka to invest in airport and aviation infrastructure.

History of aviation in Sri Lanka

The history of aviation in Sri Lanka began with the British administration in Sri Lanka. The strategic position of Sri Lanka was of immense help to world airlines then in view of the distance to be covered and for other logistics and ground operations.

Air Ceylon, the first airline, was established in 1947 with a fleet of few aircrafts and the operations ended in 1978. The Air Ceylon was shut down as it was a loss-making enterprise and it paved the way for a modern commercial airline Air Lanka Ltd. with the active cooperation from the Government of Singapore and Singapore Airlines.

Since then the national carrier Air Lanka evolved into a major airline plying different roots in the Asian and European sectors. It was a true national symbol of Sri Lanka. The airline then came under privatisation and entered into a strategic partnership with Emirates Airlines, which took a major slice of the equity.

Need for a national aviation policy

The Government must commit itself to continuing the growth of Sri Lanka’s international air services, providing additional opportunities for trade and tourism, while maintaining a strong Sri Lanka based aviation sector. The Government should pursue an international air services policy and perhaps a white paper on aviation policy would serve to attract investors.

A white paper would enable the stakeholders to take a long-term view of potential development and growth of aviation. It would also provide a forum for discussion and consultation among all stake holders and brilliant ideas could be taken onboard and adjust the strategy at the time of execution. If there is a holistic national approach, the aviation sector could be further improved. Even India has issued a white paper on Civil Aviation Policy.

Sri Lanka must look into the changes that would have some impact at the operations level. There should be a Joint Indo Lanka Air Services Consultation Committee so that issues relating to open skies policy between the two countries could be discussed.

Strategy for Sri Lankan and Mihin Air

With the defeat of LTTE, thanks to the persistent efforts by the President of Sri Lanka, new opportunities have arisen to develop the tourism sector. It is high time a holistic approach to aviation is taken vis-à-vis SriLankan Airlines and Mihin Air.

The need to find a strategic partner for both airlines is opportune. The strategic partnership should be attracted by broad basing the equity. The partner should provide the necessary impetus to compete with other airlines in the region.  SriLankan Airlines should be able to exploit the Indian subcontinent with the millions of Indian NRIs (Non Resident Indians) working in the Middle Eastern region. SriLankan Airlines must also undertake a feasibility study on the Colombo-Manila sector to attract millions of Philippines nationals working in the Middle Eastern region (hub facility).

There are tremendous opportunities for budget airlines and Mihin Air should come up with its own strategy so that it no longer needs Government support for survival. Gradual easing of Mihin Air’s debt burden is certainly welcome news.

SriLankan Airlines is in dire need of new aircraft. The fleet modernisation require infusion of capital and political backing would be required to obtain assistance from Boeing Capital Corporation and the US Import Export Bank, which have specialised in aircraft financing.

The airline operators have identified that Boeing 777 has 99% dispatch reliability and is rated as one of the most cost efficient and safest aircraft in the world. In the case of fleet modernisation, political risk factors might come into play as Sri Lanka’s debt burden has reached humongous proportions and international lenders might have second thoughts as the GDP debt ratio is alarming. The only remedy would be to increase our exports.

There is potential for commercial utilisation of Jaffna airport to serve the Indian subcontinent. The proper civilian infrastructure should be in place to commence international operations to South India.

The Government must look into ways and means of gradually transforming the Jaffna airport into a civilian airport without compromising the national security needs of the country.

SriLankan Airlines’ Aircraft Engineering Departments should be divested from the airline and made a subsidiary with foreign participation to attract contracts from other airlines. When the Engineering Dept. is divested, it will have its mission and goals to achieve and should then be in a position to compete with other MRO (Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul) businesses worldwide. SriLankan Airlines has qualified aircraft engineers and could further augment professional levels needed to cater to other airlines.  

Skilled personnel

The aviation sector in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region has seen a massive growth and airlines have invested in billions of dollars to procure new aircrafts, and airports too have undergone tremendous modernisation programs.

The Arabian Business News report says that MENA airlines are planning to add 2,400 new aircraft to operation by 2020 and this would be a windfall for Asian expatriates who are in search of greener pastures in the MENA region.

A special Boeing study says that there would be a need to recruit 36,100 pilots and 53,700 technicians over the next 20 years. Boeing projects the world would face an unprecedented demand for airline pilots and maintenance technicians to 2031 as global economies expand and airlines take delivery of thousands of new commercial airplanes.

Boeing says their customers had faced challenges in recruiting personnel due to pilot and technician shortages. This is welcome news for local aviation training schools and the Sri Lanka Air Force too should look into expanding its training opportunities to cater to commercial requirements.

(The writer is a freelance journalist and a political lobbying and government relations consultant. He has been a commercial manager of an aviation services company in the Republic of Yemen.)