Sri Lanka may buy six Chinese aircraft to revive state-run budget airline, Mihin Air

Sri Lanka government is putting in place a corporate plan to revive its budget airline, Mihin Air for which it will procure six Chinese-built aircraft by year end, according to a PTI report. "We have sought the cabinet's approval to purchase new aircraft from China in the upcoming budget," informed Chamal Rajapaksa, Minister of Ports and Aviation, Sri Lanka. He further said that the government will take steps to resume operations of Mihin Air by December utilising state-owned aircraft purchased from China. The government has submitted a cabinet paper to allocate 3.7 billion rupees to purchase six aircraft from China.

Rajapaksa told Sri Lankan Parliament yesterday that the plans will be first submitted to the Parliamentary Consultative Committee for further consultation. He admitted that administrative failure led to the suspension of Mihin Air and promised that an efficient management will be appointed. "Mihin Lanka was established with good intentions, but it ended in disaster because of several mistakes that were made. We have studied our mistakes and I'm sure we can make this a profit making venture," stated Rajapaksa.