SriLankan Airlines launched a new ‘Corporate Policy on the Carriage of Fauna and Flora on Board SriLankan Aircraft’ last week, to strengthen its numerous initiatives on species smuggling.
CEO of SriLankan, Captain Suren Ratwatte said, “We believe that the launch of this policy will send a strong message to species smugglers that we will not tolerate any activities that are unethical or endanger the survival of any species. It is important that we as a National Airline reaffirm our commitment to conservation and strengthen our policies and procedures.”
The policy reaffirms SriLankan’s resolve to follow established international conservation practices, including a total ban on transporting of wild game hunting trophies and any part of a species listed under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES); ban on transporting non-human primates destined for laboratories or laboratory suppliers; and the strict adherence to national regulations and applicable best practices in relation to proper documentation and approvals of regulatory authorities.
Convener of SriLankan’s Green Initiatives and Head of Human Resources, Pradeepa Kekulawala said, “Our new corporate policy was formulated after much research on global trends in conservation, and a resolve to stay in the forefront of the anti-smuggling campaign for which we have gained a sound reputation over the last decade.”
Sri Lanka’s national carrier is a pioneer of conservation in the global air transport industry and was the sixth airline to be awarded the Quality Assurance Standard (QAS) Carbon Neutral Quality Mark for its Voluntary Carbon Offset Program, ‘Flygreen’.
SriLankan became the first airline in Asia to introduce the concept of ‘Planet Friendly Flights’ as far back as 2009.