A Brief Colonial History Of Ceylon(SriLanka)
Sri Lanka: One Island Two Nations
A Brief Colonial History Of Ceylon(SriLanka)
Sri Lanka: One Island Two Nations
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Thiranjala Weerasinghe sj.- One Island Two Nations
?????????????????????????????????????????????????Monday, July 10, 2017
RTI: SriLankan Airlines Pilots Guild Seeks Information Regarding Airlines’ Downward Spiral
Taking advantage of the country’s Right to Information Act, the Airline Pilots Guild of Sri Lanka have written to SriLankan Airlines Information Officer Shiara Sellamuttu seeking full disclosure to several information pertaining to the salaries of CEO Suren Ratwatte,
Head of Human Resources Pradeepa Kekulawla, Chief Commercial Officer
Siva Ramachandran, besides information on the botched Pakistan
International Airline wet lease deal and the cost incurred to train CEO
Ratwatte to fly the Airbus 320 aircraft.
Sellamuttu in her reply to the Pilots Guild letter dated the 29th of
June 2017 confirmed a day later that the requested information will be
furnished in 14 days’ time.Management
Pilots During Better Times – Capt. Pujith Jayakody, Capt. Renuke
Senanayake, Head of Flight Operations Capt. Rajind Ranatunga and CEO
Capt. Suren Ratwatte
Meanwhile
Chairman Ajith Dias, who had earlier ordered the airline’s Crew
Rostering Department be brought under the Human Resources Department
effective the 1st of July 2017, reversed his decision after a meeting
that was held last Tuesday between the Head of Flight Operations Capt.
Rajind Ranatunga and the airline’s Senior Management Team. This was
after the airline’s Board of Directors and Chairman Ajith Dias decided
to virtually gift CEO Ratwatte a flying scholarship to follow a full
Airbus 320 conversion course which cost the tax payer around US $
50,000.
Chairman Dias’ feeble attempt in making this change initially was
exposed when CEO Ratwatte’s Ground School and Simulator Training was
found to be rigged by Instructor Pilots handpicked to specifically
conduct his training. Besides Captains Pujitha Jayakody Jnr and Rakhita
Wijeratne visiting the office of the CEO at the World Trade Center to
conduct personal classes in his plush office, Simulator Instructor Pilot
Capt. Mohan Pragasam’s failure to document the ‘tail strike’ CEO
Ratwatte was involved in during his training caused serious safety
concerns. SriLankan Airline’s management pilots specifically offer
contracts to medically condemned and pilots well over the retirement age
to conduct Ground, Simulator and Flying classes as instructors and
examiners and use them to their advantage. Not wanting to compromise
their sole source of income, management pilots are then easily passed
despite causing serious errors at times with a mild slap on their
wrists. This was exposed by Colombo Telegraph after the CEO’s Secretary
contacted the airline’s Crew Scheduling Manager Nalaka de Zoysa who
ordered that the scheduled Line Flying Instructor Capt. Amjath Murad
Shafeek be replaced by Capt. Ranga Amadoru who CEO Ratwatte had also
handpicked to have him cleared to fly the A320 aircraft. It was later
revealed that CEO Ratwatte was reluctant in flying with Instructor Pilot
Capt. Amjath Murad Shafeek, a no nonsense check pilot who would even
fail the CEO if his check flight was below par.
After Colombo Telegraph’s expose, CEO Ratwatte subsequently requested
for annual leave midway through his training, stating he was stressed
and wished to visit Melbourne Australia in order to spend time with his
family. However it was noted that the CEO’s request was made after he
was informed that he had been re-scheduled to complete two Line Flying
Checks with Capt. Amjath Murad Shafeek on the 9th of July 2017 to Trichy
and 12th of July 2017 to Trivandrum.