Permission has been sought to hire foreign pilots as a solution to the shortage of pilots in SriLankan and FitsAir, Civil Aviation Authority of Sri Lanka (CAASL) Director General and Chief Executive Officer P. A. Jayakantha said.
He said that Sri Lanka’s aviation industry experts and pilots are leaving the country since foreign airline companies offer higher salaries.
Mr. Jayakantha said that there is a great demand for foreign airlines from our pilots since the salaries they offer are five or six times higher than the salaries paid in Sri Lanka.
“The civil aviation sector, in general, operates in the same manner all over the world, and therefore our Sri Lankan pilots have no obstacle working in another country,” he said.
However, the experts in the field pointed out that bringing down pilots from foreign countries to be paid in US Dollars instead of safeguarding local pilots who are paid in rupees will fastrack the closure of local airlines.
