Admiral (Retired) Kanchana Banagoda has been appointed chairman of Airport and Aviation Services (Sri Lanka) (Private) Limited, the state-owned company that operates the country’s airports.
Ada Derana carried the appointment as a news alert at about 9.05 p.m. on Monday. It reported that Banagoda will formally assume duties as chairman on September 1.
The appointment fills a post that has been held on an acting basis for most of this year. The aviation trade outlet Aviation Voice, reporting the appointment on Sunday, said W.S. Mangala, Secretary to the Ministry of Ports and Civil Aviation, had been serving as acting chairman since the departure of former chairman Harsha Abeywickrama in January.
Two aviation bodies, two changes
The appointment is separate from the change at the country’s aviation regulator announced a day earlier. Retired Colonel Ranjith Rajasinghe was named chairman of the Civil Aviation Authority of Sri Lanka on Sunday, succeeding Sunil Jayaratne, and is due to assume duties on August 25.
The two organisations perform different functions. AASL is the operator — it runs Bandaranaike International Airport at Katunayake and the country’s other airports, and handles ground infrastructure and airport services. CAASL is the regulator, responsible for safety oversight and licensing across the sector.
The changes place new leadership at both bodies within days of each other.
Background not disclosed
Neither report set out Banagoda’s professional background beyond his retired naval rank, nor the term of his appointment or the authority that made it. No reason was given for the timing.
AASL is handling rising traffic through its airports. Bandaranaike International recorded 4.7 million passenger movements in the first half of 2026, and the company has this month issued public warnings about kite flying near airport approach paths.
As of late Monday, no other verified Sri Lankan newsroom had published its own report of the appointment.
