Colombo, 15th Jan 2022:

SriLankan Airlines reports a Company Profit of USD 9.25 million and a Group Profit of USD 10.66 million for December 2021, which is the first profitable month for the airline since the onset of the pandemic in early 2020. The revenues are up by almost 200% compared with the same period last year and has reached over 80% of the pre-pandemic level. Further, the airline reports a profit of USD 11.43 million for December 2021 at Air Transportation level, which is the highest recorded profit from Air Transportation in over 20 years.

“The sacrifices made by all our staff members have paved the way for a positive start for the New Year. During the past two years, we implemented multifaceted initiatives to reduce operational costs, for which each and every employee of the SriLankan family contributed, and we are reaping the benefits of our efforts today. The future, however, remains extremely challenging with the spread of the new variant of the virus and we will continue to monitor the situation closely and take necessary action to ensure that the momentum achieved in December continues,” said Ashok Pathirage, Chairman of SriLankan Airlines.

SriLankan operated close to 800 flights during the month and carried a total of 228,203 passengers – in excess of 13 times the number of passengers carried in December 2020. Moreover, SriLankan uplifted a total of 7,877 metric tons of cargo, which is a 147% increase from December 2020.

Despite the difficulties of the pandemic, SriLankan has also maintained its commitment to support the national economy, bringing tourism, connecting business, carrying freight and earning foreign exchange. In the past year, SriLankan launched operations to several new destinations including to Seoul; Nairobi; Moscow; Paris; and Kathmandu as the pandemic showed signs of slowing and borders gradually opened.

As these positive numbers ring in the New Year for SriLankan, the Airline hopes to continue the momentum by pressing forward with a renewed energy and focus.