COLOMBO: Dubai-based airline Emirates said Friday it was standing by the chief executive it had appointed to run Sri Lanka s national carrier, just days after the island revoked his work permit.
Peter Hill will remain CEO of SriLankan until the contract expires in March 2008, Emirates, which owns 43.6 percent of the company and has the right to manage the airline for 10-years up to next March, said in a statement.
The Sri Lankan government on Wednesday withdrew Hill s work permit, but his visa was not withdrawn. Sri Lanka, which controls 51.05 percent of SriLankan Airlines, wants a bigger say in the running of the national carrier.
The 62-year-old British national is currently based in Colombo and has been the head of the national airline since 1999, after joining as its chief commercial officer in 1998. His virtual expulsion from the airline was because he had failed to look after the interests of the majority shareholder, the head of Sri Lanka s investment regulatory authority said this week.
The government is due to hold a meeting next month with Emirates to discuss plans to renew the management contract of SriLankan. Discussions have so far been inconclusive. -AFP
