SriLankan Airlines to report loss of up to $160 m due to Easter Sunday attacks: CEO

Thursday, 8 August 2019 02:35 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Reuters: Sri Lanka’s state-run carrier could post a loss of as much as $160 million this financial year, as tourist arrivals in the island nation fell following the Easter bombings in April.

“The forecast (for fiscal year ending March 2020) soon after the Easter Sunday attack is about $160 million ... but I’ll be happy if I can cap it around $100-$120 million,” SriLankan Airlines Chief Executive Officer Vipula Gunatilleka told Reuters in an interview on Wednesday.

Islamist militants bombed churches and luxury hotels across Sri Lankaon 21 April, killing more than 250 people and severely denting its tourism sector, one of the country’s top revenue streams.

That loss would however be marginally narrower than the $168 million reported in the fiscal year to end-March 2019, Gunatilleka said.

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