The winds are a-changing in civil aviation and at SriLankan Airlines. Our national airline is now under the Ministry of Finance, directly under the control of the President, instead of the Ministry of Aviation. We have to wait and see whether it will improve matters. It will certainly carry a few possible risks and pitfalls. Some say that the situation in SriLankan Airlines cannot fall any lower.

These risks must be properly managed and mitigated, because in civil aviation there is always a fine balance between safety and profitability.

Below are views of some experts on possible risks, with which I tend to agree.

Risk No 1. Financial Prioritisation over Operational Concerns/Focus on Profitability (i.e. the bottom line only): The Ministry of Finance may prioritise financial performance, cost-cutting measures, and profitability over operational concerns, safety, or customer service, which are typically managed by the Ministry of Aviation.

Short-Term Financial Goals

: Decisions might be driven by short-term financial results (e.g. quarterly profits) rather than long-term sustainability, growth, or innovation in aviation. Cutting corners purely for economic benefit costs lives. The DC-10 accident in Chicago in 1979 and the recent Boeing 737 MAX accidents come to mind,

Risk No 2. Increased Focus on Budget Management/Public Funding and Subsidies: The airline may be more heavily scrutinised for its financial efficiency, with increased pressure to effectively manage subsidies, loans, or public funds.

Budget Constraints

: In times of financial strain, the Ministry of Finance might push for austerity measures, potentially affecting fleet maintenance, infrastructure upgrades, or employee welfare.

Risk No 3. Reduced Focus on Regulatory Oversight: Operational Oversight: The Ministry of Aviation typically ensures regulatory compliance, safety standards, air traffic management, and aviation policy. Under the Ministry of Finance, these may be deprioritised, potentially affecting overall safety and operational efficiency.

(Arguably, Sri Lankan Airlines, in common with its predecessors Air Lanka and Air Ceylon, has the best air safety record in the world.)

Policy Alignment

: The airline may have less direct input into the development of aviation-specific policies, such as airspace management, environmental impact, or consumer protection laws.

Note 1: The last aviation policy was passed by the Sri Lankan Parliament in 2017.

Note 2: The product Sri Lankan Airlines is meant to deliver is “Safe and On Time”. The airline’s priorities operationally are safety first, passenger comfort second, schedule third and profitability last, when working in real time.

Risk No 4. Potential for Privatisation or Market Liberalisation/Privatisation Push: When the push comes to a shove, the Ministry of Finance may pursue privatisation or public-private partnerships to reduce the government’s financial burden, potentially leading to less public control over airline operations.

Market Competitiveness:

 Financially driven decisions might encourage liberalisation or deregulation in an effort to promote competition, which could lead to lower fares but potentially reduced service quality and compromising of air safety.

Risk No 5. Risk to National Interest Goals/National Carrier Strategy: Airlines often serve strategic national interests (e.g. connecting remote regions, supporting tourism, or facilitating diplomatic efforts). The Ministry of Finance might be less focused on these broader geopolitical objectives, potentially leading to reduced emphasis on these goals.

National Security

: Certain aviation assets and services may be closely tied to national security interests. The Ministry of Finance may not prioritise this aspect in the same way the Ministry of Aviation would.

Note: One example is the Talangama Transmitters site formerly owned by the Ceylon Civil Aviation Department, situated a mere 4.4 nautical miles from the runway end on final approach to Colombo International Airport – Ratmalana, being acquired by the military and now classified as a ‘no fly zone’, thus compromising air safety. When millions were invested in Akuregoda, the Civil Aviation Authority Sri Lanka (CAASL) remained silent anyway!

Risk No 6. Impact on Labour and Workforce Concerns/Labour Relations: The focus of the Ministry of Finance on financial performance might lead to cost-cutting measures that could negatively affect employees, such as layoffs, wage reductions, or reduced benefits, leading to possible labour unrest.

Staffing Efficiency

: While the Ministry of Aviation might focus on maintaining a skilled workforce for safe operations, the Ministry of Finance may see staffing as an area for financial optimisation, potentially impacting operational readiness.

Risk No 7. Impact on Innovation and Environmental Goals/Technology and Sustainability: The Ministry of Finance might be tempted to prioritise immediate financial returns over long-term investments in sustainability, such as the development of greener technologies or new aircraft, potentially delaying efforts to reduce the carbon footprint of the airline.

Incentive for Innovation

: A more finance-oriented leadership could discourage investment in innovation, focusing on minimising costs rather than exploring advancements in aviation technology, customer experience, or safety enhancements.

In summary, moving an airline to oversight by the Ministry of Finance could lead to a stronger emphasis on financial sustainability and cost management, but it may also reduce attention to safety, innovation, and long-term strategic goals associated with the aviation sector.

Being forewarned is forearmed … or is it?

Capt. G.A. Fernando

MBA (UK)

gafplane@sltnet.lk

Retired Airline Pilot.

President UL Club.

Immediate past President, Aircraft Owners’ and Operators’ Association. (AOAOA)

Representative for ‘Aviation’ in the Organisation of Professional Associations (OPA)

Former Member Air Accident/ Incident Investigation Team CAASL

Former Facilitator in Crew Resource Management (CRM) SIA

RCyAF/SLAF, Air Ceylon, Air Lanka, Singapore Airlines, SriLankan Airlines

Apropos Dr. Geewananda Gunawardena’s (GG) excellent article titled “Agnotology and Ethnic Relations” (The Island – 04,11.2024) I would like to say that his timely attempt to show that differences and conflicts, based on ethnicity, has no relevance in today’s world, is laudable to say the least. Further his view that veneration of the elite and rulers must stop is also praise-worthy and one can’t agree more with him. The fact that these two phenomena, racism and adulation of the elite, have plagued the country and brought us to the present sad straits cannot be overemphasized. However, I have to make a few observations of dissent that wouldn’t in any way take anything away from what he has said, purely for academic and scientific reasons and with no racial connotations whatsoever.

His contention is that there are no genetic differences between Sinhalese and Sri Lankan Tamils as shown in a study he quotes as “Ranaweera, 2014” which is based on a mitochondrial DNA analysis. This study may not have found any difference for there may not be such difference in mitochondrial DNA of Sinhalese and Sri Lankan Tamils. However, a different test on some other aspect of genetics may find a difference. A more recent study by three Sri Lankan researchers has reported a difference which they consider as evidence that support the theory of ancient linguistic origin of Sri Lankan ethnicities — Indo-Aryan origin of Sinhalese and Dravidian origin of Tamil populations (KLN Perera, Gayani Galhena & Gaya Ranawake, June 2021). This study is titled “X-chromosomal STR based genetic polymorphisms and demographic history of Sri Lankan ethnicities and their relationship with global populations”. Here STR stands for Short Tandem Repeat which is a DNA sequence where a short sequence of nucleotides is repeated multiple times in a row. STRs are found throughout the genome and are characterized by their length polymorphism, meaning the number of repeated sequences varies between individuals. I do not claim that this method is superior to mitochondrial DNA analysis that GG has mentioned. What I want to emphasise is that it is unnecessary to find how close ethnic groups are related if the intention is to promote ethnic harmony, but for academic purposes and historical interest certainly by all means it must be done. Suffice it to say that we are all humans and have the same origin in East Africa and therefore must get on harmoniously despite ethnic differences. Because whether we like it or not there are ethnic differences between the ethnic groups in Sri Lanka and conflicts are more common between closely related groups than distant groups. We must look for other means of bringing peace and cordiality among communities.

Ethnicity is a social heritage and may be based on, not genes, but one or more of the following characteristics; language, religion and geographic location. Different ethnic groups may have very similar genomes. Similarly, there may be genetic differences within the same ethnic group. For example, genetic composition of Israelis and Palestinians are very much similar, dating back to the Stone Age, but today they are arch enemies. No useful purpose would be served by harping on their common ancestry except perhaps for academic interest.

As GG correctly mentions it is the politicians who exploit these differences to gain popularity among their communities and remain in political power. Such politicians should be exposed and weeded out of the political arena. This process has already started if one is to go by the outcome of the recently concluded general election. One hopes this was not a “flash in the pan” and one-off political phenomenon but a more permanent change in the attitude of voters of all communities. If it means that the Sri Lankan voter has matured it bodes well for future communal harmony and development of the nation.

N.A.DE S. AMARATUNGA

Rienzie Fernando was an extraordinary engineer of repute, a rare one, who took risks and challenges with ease. He was daring and perfect—a visionary and missionary. He was committed to building up young talent in engineering.

Many professors taught him. He was not a professor but he was qualified to teach many on the practice of engineering.

He was my group mate, my training mate and my tutor, when it came to the interpretation of very complex electrical theory.

As for his desire for consultancy, the seed was sown by the late Eng. Amarasingham of Walker and Greg, where we both got the first exposure to what electrical engineering is in practice.

It was just a few days ago we had a chat about stability issues in the grid with the irregularities of solar power generation. He shared with me a study he had done recently, and how we could get CEB engineers to do some such studies to sort out the instabilities in the grid.

He was keen to help. We did resolve to help the young engineers in CEB.

Who will replace him? Well, there is no one to do so. He was unmatched. Such was not only his knowledge as well as his desire to help fellow engineers.

May his soul rest in peace and rise in Glory! Good night, sweet prince, and flights of angels sing thee hosannas to thy eternal rest. May light perpetual shine upon thee!

SHAVINDRANATH FERNANDO