Sri Lankan Airlines (UL) plans to call Request for Proposals (RFP) to procure two dedicated freighters shortly.
“There’s so much cargo business at the moment. Exports have picked up, so there’s huge demand and we want to help the national economy. One lesson learnt from COVID is to not be completely dependent on passenger business and to look for other alternatives,” Sri Lankan Airlines, Chairman, Ashok Pathirage has told The National newspaper in UAE.
At the moment, SriLankan Airlines does not operate any dedicated freighters.
However, it has been aggressively expanding its presence in the cargo market since the COVID-related border closure completely closed its international-only scheduled passenger business.
The carrier currently operates one A321-200N, three A330-200s, and six A330-300s on cargo-only flights.
The National Carrier also plans to recover and expand its passenger business in the future.
Pathirage stressed the airline’s plans to transform the Colombo International Airport into an international hub connecting Asia-Pacific, the Middle East, and Africa, breaking away from the earlier administrations focus to develop the Carrier as a leading regional Airline.