10 November 2023; Colombo – SriLankan Airlines, on a complimentary basis, flew in another consignment of medicine donations weighing 1,000 kilograms that was gifted to the Ministry of Health Sri Lanka by the Bangladesh Association of Pharmaceutical Industries. SriLankan’s profound sense of duty to Sri Lanka means that the airline is happy to offer freight free air transportation services for much-needed medicines and health supplies that are donated to Sri Lanka by foreign governments and organizations.
“We feel privileged to help out our people and country in any way that we could when an opportunity arises, especially at a time the national health sector is at crossroads. Over the years, SriLankan Airlines has flown in countless shipments of donated medicines from around the world, and we will continue to facilitate the availability of life-saving drugs in Sri Lanka through timely delivery by air‚”stated the Head of Cargo of SriLankan Airlines‚ Chaminda Perera.
The medicines gifted by Bangladesh have been produced by the country’s leading pharmaceutical companies including Beximco Pharma‚ Square‚ Incepta‚ Renata‚ Unimed Unihealth‚ Healthcare‚ Beacon‚ Acme‚ Synovia Pharma and Nuvista Pharma. The consignment arrived in Colombo on 4 November 2023 on flight UL 190 from Dhaka‚ in collaboration with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Sri Lanka and Ministry of Health Sri Lanka.
Nazmul Hassan‚ President of the Bangladesh Association of Pharmaceutical Industries‚ commented on the significance of the donation stating‚ “Bangladesh and Sri Lanka‚ the two friendly South Asian nations‚ value their deep and cordial relationship and will always remain committed to strengthening the time-tested bilateral ties shared between the two countries.”
SriLankan Airlines is one of the largest international freight carriers between Colombo and Dhaka‚ with the average daily cargo uplift totalling to an impressive 15‚ 000 kilograms and many freight forwarding companies opting for the convenience offered by SriLankan Airlines and its Colombo hub. SriLankan currently has a daily flight service between Colombo and Dhaka‚ with seamless connections to the airline’s network of over 110 own and codeshare international destinations.