Minister of Civil Aviation Nimal Siripala de Silva has slammed SriLankan Airlines cockpit crew for refusing to operate scheduled flights in the event of a health emergency.
According to Daily Mirror, Minister Nimal Siripala stated that SriLankan Airlines cockpit crew had been requested to operate scheduled flights as a fellow officer had fallen ill.
“20 or more first officers were off-duty when the first officer on duty fell ill. I contacted the officers via telephone and requested their assistance to operate the flights as it had caused distress among passengers. None of the first officers responded positively and refused to operate the flight,” the minister said.
Minister Nimal Siripala further stated that even though in the past officers had cooperated in the event of an emergency, none of the first officers came forward in this instance.
He further accused the officers of obtaining the necessary training and flying hours from SriLankan Airlines but later utilizing it to join other airlines for lucrative salaries.
The Civil Aviation Minister made the remarks while responding to the recent delays in flights to South Korea which had affected the departure of Sri Lankan migrants leaving for foreign employment.
Minister Nimal Siripala further stressed the need to restructure SriLankan Airlines to address such issues. (NewsWire)