Sri Lanka Aviation

No movement of MSN 1037 after ferried to ISL since 16-Sep-2025. Notsure if its towed to the hangar for paintwork. I tried to get info from local spotters but no luck.
I am currently trying to get approval from Ataturk Airport Authorities and Istanbul Police before i fly to Istanbul to take photos of 4R-ALU.

Virgin's A330-343 (MSN 1215) ferried to ISL. Do you know if UL interested to lease this aircraft?

4R-ALN was doing engine run near Asiana Airlines Hangar at ICN.

Yes the comment was only hypothetical. I have edited my post to avoid confusion.

SL Gov should build theme parks and hotels near Mattala Airport and improve the transport facilities. It will be better SL gov soon stretch the railway line from Beliatta>Mattala Airport>Kataragama>Kumana>Arugambay>Batticaloa. So tourists can access the Eastern and Southern attractions easily and quickly by express trains. Mattala Airport have to focus on tourists.

Do not get my comment as a negative one, But these destinations and routes are Hypothetical right?

GullivAir operating TLV-CMB-TLV flights.
IZ640 operating now from CMB-TLV

edit: apparently this is my 200th post.

In my opinion Sri Lanka Airports should be operated by below airlines and destinations.

Jaffna Airport - Local airline would've connected Jaffna with Chennai, Trivandrum, Trichy, Madurai, Coimbatore, Bengaluru, Kochi, Kozhikode, Hyderabad, Tirupathi, Mangalore, Mysore, Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, Dubai, Doha and Singapore

Mattala Airport supposed to attract passengers from China, Russia, Eastern Europe and Central Asia. Below airlines can serve Mattala : Hainan Airlines, Air Astana, Uzbekistan Airways, Redwings, Azur Air, Skyup, Azerbaijan Airlines, Enter Air, Smart Wings, Hong Kong Airlines, Belavia, Arkia, Georgian Airways, Armenia Airways, Wizzair, S7 Airlines, Flyone, Air Serbia, Flydubai, AirAsia, Iran Airtour, Air Albania, Bulgaria Air

Colombo Bandaranaike International Airport supposed to focus non-seasonal operators. Below airlines can serve Colombo : Japan Airlines, Air China, Korean Air, China Eastern, Cathay Pacific, Vietnam Airlines, Chongqing Airlines, Thai Airways, Malaysia Airlines, Thai AirAsia, Myanmar Airways, AirAsia, Singapore Airlines, Flyscoot, Garuda, Qantas, Biman, Nepal Airlines, Air India, Indigo, PIA, Maldivian, Air Seychelles, Air Mauritius, Kenya Airways, Ethiopian, Egypt Air, Royal Jordanian, Oman Air, Salam Air, Emirates, AirArabia, AirArabia Abu Dhabi, Etihad, Qatar Airways, Gulf Air, Flynas, Saudia, Riyadh Air, Kuwait Airways, Iran Air, British Airways, KLM, Air France, Lufthansa, ITA Airways, Austrian Airlines, LOT Polish Airlines, Aeroflot, Swiss Air, Turkish Airlines, Flydubai, China Southern, EVA Air

Fitsair better serve below international destinations from Colombo: - Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Jakarta, Dhaka, Ahmedabad, Gaya, Varanasi, Goa, Chennai, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Trichy, Madurai, Coimbatore, Kochi, Kozhikode, Trivandrum, Male, Gan, Muscat, Karachi, Dubai, Bahrain, Doha, Sharjah, Abu Dhabi, Kuwait, Dammam, Riyadh, Jeddah, Manila, Yangon, Salalah, Ras Al Khahmah, Madinah and Domestic flights to Jaffna, Trincomalee, Batticaloa and Mattala. Routes better to be codeshare with UL.

SriLankan Airlines better serve below international destinations from Colombo : Tokyo, Seoul, Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Guangzhou, Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Jakarta, Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, Dhaka, Kathmandu, Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkota, Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Trivandrum, Kochi, Male', Karachi, Lahore, Muscat, Dubai, Doha, Kuwait, Bahrain, Dammam, Riyadh, Jeddah, Nairobi, Dar Es Salaam, Entebbe, London, Paris, Frankfurt, Moscow, Rome, Milan, Zurich, Amsterdam, Toronto, New York.

Ratmalana Airport should be focussing on flight training, business jets and MRO facility for turboprops.

Thanks for sharing the update !

Azur Air is planning to connect Mattala with Novosibirsk with One off charter and two weekly flights with Samara.

Hi Banu,
Could you please grab any info or gossip about Local Domestic startup airline called as "Lotus Airlines" which was about to start before Covid 19 and plans were scrapped due to Covid 19, as far as I heard.

Nop, Peter Hill resigned from Fits Air (Vice President - Passenger Operations) and Now he is working with some other African Startup Airline.

Any new information on the to-be 4R-ALU(MSN#1037)?

i didnt notice the latter part. thanks for sharing!
then it may be overseas maintenance (since there's already an A333[4R-ALQ] in the 747 hangar)

Nice to know Mr Peter Hill sharing the knowledge for the development of Sri Lanka Aviation. Is Mr Peter Hill still working as a CEO for Fitsair?

Domestic airline better operated from CMB so it can connect domestic passenger with international flights. Any details of the upcoming Domestic airline?

No movements of 4R-ALN since it arrived in ICN on the 08-10-2025. I wonder if ALN visited ICN for scheduled maintenance ? Noticed there was an additional flight UL470/471 to ICN on the same week. UL have only two weekly CMB-ICN flights. Third weekly planned only after Mar-2026.

New Domestic Airline Could Transform Travel and Tourism in Sri Lanka Within Months

Sri Lanka may soon witness a significant leap in its domestic aviation landscape, with plans underway to launch a scheduled airline service using mid-sized aircraft capable of seating between 50 and 70 passengers.

The initiative, expected to take flight within the next six months, aims to resolve a persistent challenge that has long hindered the equitable spread of tourism across the island.

The proposal was revealed by Peter Hill, a veteran of the aviation industry and former Chief Executive Officer of SriLankan Airlines, during a high-level panel discussion at the International Tourism Leaders Summit 2025.

The event, held at the Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference Hall (BMICH) in Colombo, brought together global and local tourism stakeholders to explore the theme of “Tourism Innovation and Connectivity for the Future of Sri Lanka Tourism.”

Hill, who is actively involved in shaping the prospective airline, addressed a critical obstacle facing the industry: the time-consuming and often impractical overland travel to key regions such as Jaffna, Trincomalee, and the Eastern coastline.

While these destinations boast rich cultural heritage and natural beauty, they remain underutilised due to poor internal connectivity.

“Travelling to many parts of the country still takes far too long,” Hill noted, highlighting how the lengthy journeys by road dissuade tourists from venturing beyond the well-trodden routes. A journey from Colombo to Jaffna, for instance, can exceed nine hours by car, while the same trip would take less than an hour by air.

The solution, according to Hill, lies in introducing the right type of aircraft—not the costly helicopters and limited-capacity air taxis currently available, but comfortable, efficient turboprops with room for both passengers and their luggage. He emphasised that such aircraft are already widely used in regional aviation markets around the world and are easily obtainable.

This shift, he argued, could dramatically improve the tourist experience and stimulate economic activity in underdeveloped regions by opening up quicker, more reliable travel options. Tourists, he added, are increasingly willing to pay for time-saving alternatives that maximise their experience within limited itineraries.

Although the concept is still in the planning phase, Hill confirmed that discussions with potential investors are ongoing, and that regulatory adjustments would be necessary to transition from ad-hoc charter flights to a fully-fledged scheduled carrier. He acknowledged that the project would require support from government authorities to move forward smoothly.

“There’s still a journey ahead in terms of permissions and logistics, but if all goes to plan, we could see this become a reality in the next six months,” Hill stated, signalling cautious optimism. “It’s something the country badly needs, and the timing is right.”

Lanka News Web (LNW)

Peter Hill urges SriLankan Airlines to revive ‘Indian Ocean hub’ strategy with Africa focus

Former SriLankan Airlines CEO Peter Hill has called on the national carrier to revive its once-successful ambition of becoming the “hub of the Indian Ocean,” this time with a strategic emphasis on expanding into Africa.

Speaking at the International Tourism Leaders Summit 2025 in Colombo, Hill encouraged the airline to move beyond traditional markets and adopt a multi-layered growth plan to tap into new regions.

Instead of launching potentially costly direct flights, Hill proposed an “island-hopping” model, connecting African destinations through key Indian Ocean stopovers. He said this approach would allow SriLankan to serve multiple markets while positioning Colombo as a key transit hub linking Asia, Europe, and Africa.

Recalling his tenure as CEO, Hill pointed to the airline’s past success in India as proof of concept. Under his leadership, SriLankan expanded to 100 weekly flights across 10 Indian cities, becoming the largest foreign carrier in that market. “If we could achieve that in India, we can replicate it in other diverse regions,” he said.

https://www.dailymirror.lk/business-...cus/273-321514