Apr 15, Colombo: Sri Lanka’s national carrier, SriLankan Airline in an announcement today clarified the details of the aircraft carrying the printed material to the Entebbe International Airport in Uganda last year.

In response to the reports circulating in social media regarding the shipment, the airline said in February 2021, SriLankan Airlines received a freight order for the shipment of 102 tons of printed goods from Colombo to Entebbe International Airport in Uganda.

The consignment was purely commercial in nature and brought in much-needed foreign revenue to the airline and country at the time.

SriLankan wishes to emphasize that this cargo order was undertaken for commercial reasons only, it added.

The details of the cargo consignment were withheld due to contractual obligations as per air cargo industry standards said the statement.

However, in response to concerns raised following its statement, the national carrier in a Twitter post explained that the Ugandan government ordered Ugandan currency notes from a global security printer who operates several factories worldwide, including one in Sri Lanka, exporting to global markets.

The airline said SriLankan aircraft which were underutilized at this time during the pandemic were chartered by a UK based freight forwarder. What is now being misunderstood is the Airline Pilots Guild proud announcement of this achievement of using unutilized pax aircraft, it added.