note
National airline and flag carrier of Sri Lanka can trace its history to Air Lanka which was founded in 1979. Government of Sri Lanka was sole owner of the airline until 1998 when company was partially privatized. Emirates Airlines of Dubai purchased 40% stake in the airline and gained management control of the airline. New brand Srilankan was introduced and airline operations were streamlined. In March 2008 Emirates management control expired, but Emirates holds its shares in the airline. In 2009 airline served 44 destinations in 28 countries. In Europe, London, Frankfurt, Paris and Rome are served from Colombo. Tokyo, Bangkok, Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore and Beijing are served on its long-haul Asian network. London and Paris and Tokyo are also served from Male in Maldives. Numerous destinations throughout India and the Arabian peninsula are also served. Airline employes over 5,000 people and handles around 3 million passengers annually.
founded - demised (age)
1979 - present (46years)
headquarters
, Colombo
web
base airports
related operators
current /stored fleet (24)
