SriLankan Airlines to be placed under the Ministry of Finance .

A new gazette notification has been issued, transferring SriLankan Airlines, which was under the Ministry of Civil Aviation under the previous government, to the Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development.

President Anura Kumara Dissanayake issued a gazette notification on November 25, outlining the duties and functions of ministries and institutions under the new government, and has placed SriLankan Airlines under the Ministry of Finance, where President Anura Kumara Dissanayake will serve as the Minister.

The new government has abandoned plans to sell SriLankan Airlines, a loss-making enterprise with a large debt load, and is set to restructure it for a more profitable future.

The airline’s chairman, Sarath Ganegoda, says the President has instructed that the national airline should be an institution that all Sri Lankans can be proud of and that it should be owned by Sri Lankans.