Sri Lanka News Updates with Discussions

Dhammika Attygalle has been appointed by the Cabinet of Minister s as Advisor to Priyankara Jayaratne, Minister of Civil Aviation.

Dhammika Attygalle is a Group Director of Upali Group of Companies and was in charge of Upali Aviation.

Mr. Attygalle is the Chief Basnayake Nilame of Kelaniya Raja Maha Vihara and the President of Automobile Association of Ceylon.

Graduate from Mansfield University, Pennsylvania, USA and is an old boy of Royal College, Colombo 7.

Mr. Attygalle is a nephew of late Upali Wijewardene, Founder Chairman of Upali Group of Companies and late Deshamanya General Sepala Attygalle, Ex- Chairman Air Lanka and Airport Aviation.National languages policy.

New Air Force Commander Air Marshal Harsha Duminda Abeywickrama said yesterday that the Air Force would handle all its aircraft repair and maintenance activities in the near future.

He assumed duties as the Air Force Commander at the Air Force Headquarters yesterday.

He said that a large amount of the country s foreign exchange is being wasted for repairing and servicing aircraft.

This action has been taken to save this unnecessary expenditure.

He added that there are clever people in the Sri Lanka Air Force whose skills can be used for this purpose. Steps will be taken to set up a domestic air services in Sri Lanka to develop the tourism industry in the country too, he said. The newly appointed Air Force Commander requested his men to provide a better service to the people and perform an honest job.

Air Marshal Abeywickrama had his education at Royal College, Colombo and joined the Sri Lanka Air Force as a Cadet Officer in the General Duties Pilot branch on April 19, 1980.

He has received the Rana Wickrama Padakkama and the Rana Sura Padakkama for acts of bravery during flying missions in the North-East conflict zones, and the Utthama Seva Padakkama in recognition of his services.

China plans to invest more than 1.5 trillion yuan ($228.2 billion) in the aviation industry over the next five years to meet surging demand as its economy booms, the sector s top regulator said last week.

By 2015, the country is expected to have more than 220 commercial airports and its fleet size will expand to more than 4,500 planes, Li Jiaxiang, head of the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC), told reporters.

The ability of the civil aviation sector to serve the national economy and the public will be further strengthened by that time, Li told a news conference.

The country currently has 175 commercial airports in operation and keeps more than 2,600 aircraft in its fleet, according to Li.

China has 43 airlines, including eight privately owned carriers. The major airlines are Air China, China Southern Airlines and China Eastern Airlines.

The government encourages private investment in the civil aviation sector and three new private airlines will soon submit business applications to the regulator, Li added.

Demand for air traffic is booming as the world s second-largest economy roars ahead on near double-digit growth and increasingly affluent Chinese people are travelling more frequently.

Li had previously said the country s civil aviation fleet was expected to have up to 5,000 aircraft by 2015, according to earlier Chinese media reports.

Flight Lt. Monath Perera's body was found
Squadron leader is safe... both aircrafts are destroyed
RIP Monath :(
a brave pilot who had taken part in many sorties over SL skies against LTTE terrorists

Flight Lt. Monath Perera's body was found
Squadron leader is safe... both aircrafts are destroyed
RIP Monath :(
a brave pilot who had taken part in many sorties over SL skies against LTTE terrorists :(

Two Sri Lankan fighter aircraft collided midair on Tuesday morning while rehearsing for a fly past to be held during the 60th anniversary of the Sri Lankan air force (SLAF) on Wednesday.

Reports said one of the two pilots died while ejecting. The accident involving the Israeli-made Kfir jets occurred over Gampaha, a district to the north of Colombo, about 30 km from the Capital.

Two SLAF helicopters were dispatched to the crash site soon after the crash was reported.

The accident has happened within a day of air vice marshal Harsha Abeywickreme taking over as SLAF chief.

Week-long celebrations to mark the 60th year of SLAF were slated to begin from Wednesday with Rajapaksa presiding over the inauguration as the chief guest.

Several SLAF aircraft including five Kfir jets are expected to be part of the fly past.

The air show is expected to feature air combat maneuvers and aerobatic displays by SLAF and international teams, simulated air to ground attacks by jets and attack helicopters and simulated hostage rescue operation with SLAF Special Forces paratroopers and aircraft. But Tuesday s collision has now put a question mark on the celebration.

Other than the Kfirs, SLAF has the Russian-made MiG 27 and Chinese F7 and F5 aircraft in the fighter jet repertoire.

President Mahinda Rajapakse visited the place where the two planes of the Sri Lanka air force crashed this morning in Kirindiwela area. Director General of the President Media Mr. Bandula Jayasekera told SLBC that the President personally observed the crashed air crafts at the scene. The air crafts were on a training mission in line with the 60th anniversary of the Sri Lanka air force to be marked tomorrow. One pilot was dead and the other has been rescued. The two air crafts were completely damaged. Air force commander Air Marshal Harsha Abeywickrema also visited the scene. The dead pilot has been identified Flight Lt. Monash Perera. He has rendered a great service during the humanitarian operation against terrorism in the past period.

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