The government has shortlisted four candidates for the position of Chief Executive Officer of SriLankan Airlines, with the final selection to be presented for Cabinet approval, the Daily FT reported.
The national carrier has been without a permanent CEO for almost a year and its chairmanship has also been vacant since the resignation of Sarath Ganegoda last month. Of more than 200 applications received, three foreigners and one local candidate have been shortlisted for the top executive post, according to the report.
Ganegoda’s departure came amid a wave of exits from state enterprise boards, including the heads of the Board of Investment, the Ceylon Electricity Board, Airport and Aviation Services Ltd. and the Sri Lanka Transport Board. The circumstances of his resignation have not been officially disclosed, though the airline has credited him with a 16 percent haircut secured during the restructuring of SriLankan bonds. He had faced conflict-of-interest questions over his concurrent role as an executive director of Hayleys PLC, which has aviation-linked business interests.
For the chairmanship, 84-year-old Peter Hill — a former SriLankan CEO during the Emirates management era — is reportedly under consideration. The Daily FT argued the national carrier would be best served by appointing a commercial administrator with proven credentials rather than elevating pilots, as some past administrations had done.
The leadership vacuum is unfolding during what the industry is calling aviation’s worst crisis since COVID-19. Middle East airspace closures and threats to Strait of Hormuz energy supplies have driven jet fuel prices up by as much as 195 percent, squeezing airline margins globally. SriLankan, already loss-making, has been unable to mount a coherent commercial response without permanent leadership.
The airline’s previous CEO, British national Richard Nuttall, led the carrier from 2022 and steered it through the COVID-19 pandemic and the 2022 economic crisis. He departed last year to become president of Philippine Airlines. Aviation industry figures have publicly criticised the government’s decision not to renew his contract, arguing his continued presence would have stabilised operations during the current crisis and pending reform. The airline is separately navigating the Airbus bribery prosecution and corporate governance allegations that have shadowed its operations.
Update, May 4: Newswire reports the vacancies persist nearly two weeks after the Daily FT shortlist was disclosed. Dimal Arandara is currently listed as Acting Chairman, while Yasantha Dissanayake is Acting Chief Executive Officer. The CEO role has been in acting capacity since March 2025, while the chairman position has been on an acting basis since 31 March 2026. SriLankan Airlines reported a Group loss of LKR 2,735 million for the 2024/25 financial year, and by August 2025 accumulated losses had reached more than Rs. 632 billion, leaving it technically insolvent.
