SriLankan Airlines seeks permission to purchase fuel from Singapore
Sri Lankan Airlines has sought permission from the government to purchase aviation fuel from Singapore to cut down its fuel expenses, a media report said.
The Airlines Chairman Nishantha Wickramasinghe in an interview given to Sinhala weekly ‘Lankadeepa’ news paper has said, if the airline can buy fuel from Singapore, it would help the entity cut down its expenses and strengthen its financial position.
He says Singapore is the place where fuel can be purchased at the lowest rate.
SriLankan currently buy 50 to 60-pct of its fuel requirement from the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation, which according to the Chairman is costly compared to the rate Singapore charges for fuel.
According to him, the airline spends around 50-pct of its revenues to pay its fuel bill.
“When the world oil prices went up, the prices in Sri Lanka too went up, the airline faced a major financial crisis owing to this situation as we had to pay more for fuel”, Wickramasinghe added.
He says, a loss of revenue of the airline during the war time, which impacted its passenger numbers aggravated its financial crisis, thus piling up its debt levels.
According to the Chairman, the national carrier at present is paying Rs. 150 million to the CPC to cover its past debts.
Category: Business, Local, Sri lanka news
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