Presenting his statement in the company’s annual report for 2023/24, he said this was due to the fleet availability which was made worse by the increased time required to complete required maintenance checks on aircraft as a result of global component shortages, and maintenance issues of engines for Airbus A320/321 Neo aircraft in the global marketplace.

During the period under review, revenue of the group (airline and subsidiaries) was Rs. 339 billion against Rs. 369 billion in 2022/23 while profit (operating) was Rs. 8 billion vs a loss of Rs. 71 billion. Under equity and liabilities, the accumulated loss was Rs.382 billion vs Rs.494 billion.

CEO Richard Nuttall said that during COVID-19, many people left the industry and training programmes also ceased. As a result there were labour shortages, specifically a shortage of pilots, engineering staff, cabin crew, and ground staff posing significant impediments to the industry’s operational capacity and growth potential