Sri Lankan Air lines, the national carrier is now planning to recoup lost revenues in Covid-19 crisis by focusing on its strongest markets especially in Far East and the Middle East.
The Air line expects the Far East market to recover fastest so Sri Lankan will treat it as a priority during its initial recovery, top official of the national carrier disclosed.
Next will be the Middle East market, which has traditionally been an important area for Sri Lankan, Chairman of the Air line Ashok Pathirage said adding that the Middle East is one of the airline’s prime sectors for fifth and sixth freedom traffic through Indian sub-continent markets traditionally.
This area suffered a major setback due to the pandemic as job losses mounted in the Middle East region, but SriLankan expects a rapid revival in these markets “due to economic strength of Middle Eastern nations and their ability to recover”, he added.
Additionally, Sri Lanka expects tourism links with the Middle East to strengthen in the coming years and as a key transit point for many destinations between Europe and Asia, Pathirage sees the Middle East as a market the airline wants to maintain a presence in post-COVID-19.
Sri Lankan can be a regional carrier, even connecting India to the Far East and connecting the Far East to Europe and beyond, he pointed out claiming that it has a huge role to play.
Number one was to survive the pandemic period, number two is to get the right sizing and have a good comeback, and then once the situation returns to normal we are in a position to make full use of the opportunities, he revealed.
Beyond the pandemic there are certainly opportunities for Sri Lankan if it can make the best use of its location. But can the airline realistically fulfil the same role played by super-connectors Emirates and Etihad in the UAE.
(LIN)