SriLankan says freight carriage hits new high
May 8, 2013 (LBO) - State-run SriLankan Airlines said it carried 101,000 tonnes of freight in the year to March 2013, up 15 percent from a year earlier, the highest since 2008.
The airline said revenues rose 21 percent to 12.8 billion rupees and was targeting 13.4 billion rupees in the current financial year. Senior manager cargo Ali Kamil said the airline reached volume despite competition from Malaysia Airlines, Qatar, Etihad and Cathay operating freighters to Colombo and Korean Air and Turkish Airlines operating wide bodied aircraft. Cargo carried by SriLankan reached 93,161 tonnes in 2008 but fell sharply to 72,000 over the next two year before starting to recover. SriLankan said cargo growth was in the context of a 5.2 percent growth predicted by the International Air Transportation Association for the period. SriLankan said it manages a 20,000 square meter cargo centre in Katunayake and 5,000 square feet facility at Mattala airport.
