Chairman,Sri Lankan Airlines, Nishantha Wickremesinghe today categorically refuted a statement in Parliament made by Opposition Leader,Ranil Wickremesinghe that attempts or decisions were being made to close down the national carrier, Sri Lankan.

Addressing a media conference in Colombo, Wickremesinghe pointed out that the Opposition Leader's reference to the Auditor General/s  report was  far from the truth.

Chief Executive Officer, Sri Lankan, Manoj Gunawardene stated that even at a time  all airlines globally suffered a setback,the Sri Lankan Airline was  placed in a  stable position.

He said plans have been structured for future operations of the airline and there was a steady progress in the financial progress of the airline.

He noted that passenger had increased by 80 per cent last  month and the revenue stood at a higher standard.

Explaining further, Gunawardena  pointed out that  flights to  Europe  have increased during the past fortnight while air travel to countries like Malaysia, India,Singapore and Maldives going up considerably." We plan to  increase the number of flights to Milan',he added.

He added that with the restoration of peace, the number of tourist arrivals  have increased creating a rapid development in air travel to the country."We are even prepared to lease out aircraft to meet the traffic", he noted.