Sri Lanka carrier to cut more jobs

Fourteen civil and military aircraft were destroyed during the July 24 attack at Colombo's international airport

By staff and wire reports

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka -- Crisis-hit SriLankan Airlines hopes up to 1,000 more employees will take up its new voluntary retirement scheme, a company official said Thursday.

Sri Lanka's national carrier brought forward its previous retirement scheme by five months after the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam blew up three of its aircraft and grounded three others last week.

Airline officials have said it could be months before the damaged planes are back in service, meaning the airline would be operating with just half its fleet.

"Around 711 employees accepted the previous scheme. We will be happy if a thousand more employees accept," said Sunil Dissanayake, the airline's human resource manager.

Foreign pilot numbers may fall

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Dissanayake said the company also had the option of reducing the 80 foreign pilots it employs on contract, but had not made a decision yet.

He said the voluntary retirement scheme would not apply to them.

In the attack on Colombo's international airport on July 24, one SriLankan Airlines Airbus A340 and two Airbus A330s were completely destroyed. Eleven other civilian and military aircraft were either damaged or destroyed.

At least 21 people died in the terrorist attack, including 14 Tamil rebels. No passengers were killed, but the island's important tourism industry suffered a heavy setback.

SriLankan Airlines, which is 40 percent owned by Dubai-based Emirates airline, already was facing cost pressures.

Higher operating costs last year saw the airline post a loss of $4.3 million (388 million rupees) for the year to March 2000.

Reuters contributed to this report.