Thursday, June 25, 2020

SriLankan supports export industries, converts passenger aircraft to freighter

Lighting of the oil lamp on this historic occasion by Ashok Pathirage - Chairman of SriLankan Airlines at the launch of SriLankan Cargo’s first ever wide body Airbus A330-200 freighter aircraft.

SriLankan Airlines has converted a wide-body passenger aircraft into a dedicated cargo aircraft.

This converted Airbus A330 aircraft will commence operations on June 25, to key destinations in the Far East and Europe.

Ashok Pathirage, Chairman of SriLankan Airlines said, “We have transformed this aircraft to allow maximum cargo capacity with main deck loading in addition to the aircraft’s lower deck cargo hold to mainly support the needs of our export industries, as well as our imports sector, during the current global shortage of air cargo capacity and to strengthen the airline’s revenue stream during a time when the air transport industry is in crisis.”

The reconfiguration of the aircraft was carried out inhouse at the airline’s hub at Bandaranaike International Airport, where the SriLankan Airlines’ engineering team worked around the clock. The new operational configuration has been certified by the Civil Aviation Authority of Sri Lanka.

The aircraft will fly a total of 170 cubic metres of cargo capacity with the enhanced 60 cubic metres of cargo on its upper deck with 110 cubic metres carried on the lower deck.

Chamara Ranasinghe, Head of SriLankan Cargo said, “With the poor demand for passenger travel and the consequent reduction of air freight capacity in the global market has left a significant void for global supply chains. The past few months have seen SriLankan Airlines operating several routes specifically to cater to this demand for cargo capacity with our fleet of passenger aircraft.”

 

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