According to an official announcement, Sri Lankan Airlines, the island nation's loss-making national airline, lost 163.58 billion Sri Lankan Rupees (about 4,000 crore INR) in 2022, more than three times what it lost in 2021.
Revenues for Sri Lankan Airlines fell by 49.7 billion Sri Lankan Rupees in 2021.
“The Sri Lankan Airlines in 2022 witnessed a loss of 168.58 billion Sri Lankan Rupees while the loss during 2021 stood at 49.7 billion,” the statement from the national airline read.
While approving the almost $3 billion bailout package in mid-March, the International Monetary Fund proposed restructuring for 52 loss-making state firms, including Sri Lankan Airlines.
The only profitable years in the airline's existence were from 1998 and 2008, when Emirates Airlines assumed control of the company.
The government immediately established the state owned enterprise restructuring unit (SRU) within the ministry of finance to dispose the companies that had been a drag on the economy after receiving the first tranche of the IMF bail out.
The SRU was entrusted with selecting reputable, experienced consulting companies to handle the divestment of the state-owned businesses.
The IMF staff team arrived on Thursday to assess Sri Lanka's progress on the planned reforms before its scheduled review in September, at which point the country announced its losses.
