Features
Operating to Jeddah in modern times
By Capt. G A Fernando,
RCyAF/ SLAF, Air Ceylon,
Air Lanka, Singapore Airlines and SriLankan Airlines
This has reference to Capt. Elmo Jayawardene’s and Mr Lionel Sirimanne’s (Uncle ‘Siri’ to most of us) articles regarding flights to Jeddah many moons ago with multiple night stops in the Douglas DC3 Dakota’s. Right at its inception in 1979, Air Lanka didn’t operate to or even in Saudi Arabian Air space. The two Boeing 707s plying between the Middle East and Europe used the more northern routes through Kuwait, Iraq, Jordan and Syria till the advent of the Iran-Iraq war. Then airlines were forced to stay south and fly westward across the Saudi Arabian Dessert and then go northwards from Hail. It was then that our pilots had to speak with Jeddah Control, whose radio coverage was mediocre at best and thus taxing their patience.
Today, the modern, ‘state of the art’ jet planes are capable of flying nonstop to Jeddah with no intermediate stops. Before they leave the ground, the pilots pre-programme their on-board computers on ground and they determine an imaginary ‘Green Line’ in the Airbuses or a ‘Magenta Line’ in the Boeings defining their proposed route. The displays provide them with a host of information. Amongst other things, how to proceed to their destination. They just follow that line in their navigation displays. Some say that the pilots have become aircraft operators and ‘children’ of that ‘computer generated line’. It has made flying more accurate.
Our fights to ‘Jiddah’ (as some Sri Lankans would say) were associated with carrying fare-paying pilgrims to Mecca. Our timing had to be perfect during the ‘Haj’ due to build-up of air traffic through the years. Miss-timing our arrivals at the ‘Haj Terminal’ involved heavy fines for the airline as the Terminal building could accommodate a limited number of aircraft. By Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) standards it was still a relatively very large amount.
When approaching Jeddah, usually the leader of the group (Nade Gura) will ask the flight crew for the ‘Miquat Point’. This is the point at which the pilgrims should prepare themselves mentally and physically for the task at hand. It was marked in our Aviation route maps with a little triangle. The Captains would also allow them the use of the on board Public Address system to conduct their prayers. Being capable of direct flight, the airlines would fly across the Arabian sea of the Indian Ocean to Oman and then the Saudi Arabian desert, over many wheat farms tracing circular patterns of green. Not many know that at one time (1995) Saudi Arabia was almost self-sufficient in Wheat. The policy has changed since, as the circular, US style irrigation systems in the desert were depleting precious ground water.
Since the direct flight times from Colombo were relatively short, the crews were allowed to do a turnaround flights in accordance with the flight duty time limitations with an extra Captain on board on board providing relief and get back to Colombo.
Flights from Singapore were longer and necessitated a night stop for the inbound crew. The off season frequency was once a week. As a result we had to stay one whole week in Jeddah. Since there was not much to do and the Five Star Hotel we ‘slipped’ in, had provided a crew room with cooking facilities, the crew would organise a shopping/ marketing party on the morning of the night after our arrival to buy food for the next six days. It was compulsory that all females wear an Abaya (a black garb provided by the hotel) over their clothes, when in public. One day, we met at the reception to go shopping, I noticed that some of the girls were wearing their short, shorts that could have normally been worn in Singapore under the Abaya. As some of them were on their first visit ever to Jeddah, being their Captain and the most senior member I had to advised them to exercise some decorum and change to a more acceptable dress as the Abaya’s didn’t cover up all their sins, especially on a windy day. Another time my Australian First Officer came down for the same exercise in a pair of shorts, showing off his knobby knees and that too did not seem like a good idea to me. So he was forced to do a quick change.
The girls (and boys) would cook every day and call the rest of us for Brunch and Dinner. Our allowances were based on the Hotel Coffee Shop Menu prices. This exercise would, after defraying the costs (deserts and all), came to a fraction of the Coffee shop prices thus providing home cooking, interesting company and a substantial saving for all. Only mad dogs and Englishmen went out in the midday sun!
After one of these flight patterns, we took off one night in an Airbus A340-300 aircraft, from Jeddah to Singapore. Immediately after take-off, the standard operation procedure required us to select the wheels up, to reduce aerodynamic drag. We’ve been doing this for over a thousand times. This time, however, with an accompanying ‘ting’ a message came up on the computer display unit to say that the landing gear doors were not properly closed and as a result that there would be additional fuel burn and our destination, Singapore could not be reached. We then recycled the Landing Gear down and up, to see whether the situation would clear itself. The message remained the same. The most appropriate thing to do was to return to base (RTB).
Then another consideration had to be made regarding our operation. Our landing weight exceeding the maximum limiting landing weight. We were carrying fuel all the way to Singapore and therefore needed to get rid of some fuel to lighten our load. This process is known as ‘fuel dumping’. We could land above the Maximum Landing weight, in the event of an emergency, where time was of essence but will entail some mandatory checks on the gear after landing, to see whether we have broken anything or not.
We were in no hurry and besides dumping was the safer option, so we asked the control tower for an area (away from humanity) above which we could dump our extra fuel. If the aircraft flies high enough, the fuel ‘atomises’ into a fine mist. We were also not allowed to circle, when dumping fuel as it always possible for the jet engines to ingest the unburnt fuel. We were directed over the Jeddah harbour and instructed to fly outbound on a given heading over the Red Sea and then track inbound. So we flew outbound till the required load was reduced to half and then turned inbound to dump the other half. We were at the required weight when we were back over the harbour and then landed without any further incident. After shutting down engines, at the parking stand, we found the nose wheel doors, slowly dropped open and didn’t stay locked up. The engineers couldn’t rectify the problem immediately and we had to spend another night in Jeddah. The high point was that there were 220 ice creams on board that had to be consumed. The air crew and ground crew had many ice creams as they wished!
Back with SriLankan Airlines, I did many turnaround flights to Jeddah. My last flight to Jeddah was to ferry an empty Airbus A330 aircraft from London Heathrow. We flew eastwards to Zurich and then southwards to Rome and further south past Brindisi, in southern Italy and the Greek Islands, across the Mediterranean Sea to overhead the port of Alexandrea, Followed the Nile (and the Green Line) to Cairo and then across the Red Sea to Jeddah. Since we had no fare-paying passengers, except for a dead heading (flying as passengers) crew. They had organised a party (loud music and all) in the First Class section on board while my First Officer and I flew the A330 to Jeddah it certainly was lonely at the ‘pointy end’, beyond the bullet (and sound) proof Flight Deck door and had only the stars in the night sky to keep us company.
Party or no party, watching the sights of northern France, the Swiss Alps and the Matterhorn in the dusk, Roma, Italy, Greek Islands, Mediterranean Sea, port of Alexandria, Egypt and the lights in the settlements of the Nile delta and the Aswan Dam, from 40,000 feet, all in ‘one go’, as advertised in our Flight Plan, made our day. Since the station staff had put us up in a resort by the Red Sea, the next day we were able to have a ‘dip’ in the sea, before heading for home a day later.
Yes, ‘Aviation’ has changed quite a lot from the fifties. Now, with the advent of the Covid-19, let us brace ourselves for further changes which may not be anything like what we have experienced before.
by Dr Gotabhya Ranasinghe
Senior Consultant Cardiologist
National Hospital Sri Lanka
When we sought a meeting with Hon Dr. Ramesh Pathirana, Minister of Health, he graciously cleared his busy schedule to accommodate us. Renowned for his attentive listening and deep understanding, Minister Pathirana is dedicated to advancing the health sector. His openness and transparency exemplify the qualities of an exemplary politician and minister.
Dr. Palitha Mahipala, the current Health Secretary, demonstrates both commendable enthusiasm and unwavering support. This combination of attributes makes him a highly compatible colleague for the esteemed Minister of Health.
Our discussion centered on a project that has been in the works for the past 30 years, one that no other minister had managed to advance.
Minister Pathirana, however, recognized the project’s significance and its potential to revolutionize care for heart patients.
The project involves the construction of a state-of-the-art facility at the premises of the National Hospital Colombo. The project’s location within the premises of the National Hospital underscores its importance and relevance to the healthcare infrastructure of the nation.
This facility will include a cardiology building and a tertiary care center, equipped with the latest technology to handle and treat all types of heart-related conditions and surgeries.
Securing funding was a major milestone for this initiative. Minister Pathirana successfully obtained approval for a $40 billion loan from the Asian Development Bank. With the funding in place, the foundation stone is scheduled to be laid in September this year, and construction will begin in January 2025.
This project guarantees a consistent and uninterrupted supply of stents and related medications for heart patients. As a result, patients will have timely access to essential medical supplies during their treatment and recovery. By securing these critical resources, the project aims to enhance patient outcomes, minimize treatment delays, and maintain the highest standards of cardiac care.
Upon its fruition, this monumental building will serve as a beacon of hope and healing, symbolizing the unwavering dedication to improving patient outcomes and fostering a healthier society.We anticipate a future marked by significant progress and positive outcomes in Sri Lanka’s cardiovascular treatment landscape within the foreseeable timeframe.
by Fr. Emmanuel Fernando, OMI
Jesuit Fr. Aloysius Pieris (affectionately called Fr. Aloy) celebrated his 90th birthday on April 9, 2024 and I, as the editor of our Oblate Journal, THE MISSIONARY OBLATE had gone to press by that time. Immediately I decided to publish an article, appreciating the untiring selfless services he continues to offer for inter-Faith dialogue, the renewal of the Catholic Church, his concern for the poor and the suffering Sri Lankan masses and to me, the present writer.
It was in 1988, when I was appointed Director of the Oblate Scholastics at Ampitiya by the then Oblate Provincial Fr. Anselm Silva, that I came to know Fr. Aloy more closely. Knowing well his expertise in matters spiritual, theological, Indological and pastoral, and with the collaborative spirit of my companion-formators, our Oblate Scholastics were sent to Tulana, the Research and Encounter Centre, Kelaniya, of which he is the Founder-Director, for ‘exposure-programmes’ on matters spiritual, biblical, theological and pastoral. Some of these dimensions according to my view and that of my companion-formators, were not available at the National Seminary, Ampitiya.
Ever since that time, our Oblate formators/ accompaniers at the Oblate Scholasticate, Ampitiya , have continued to send our Oblate Scholastics to Tulana Centre for deepening their insights and convictions regarding matters needed to serve the people in today’s context. Fr. Aloy also had tried very enthusiastically with the Oblate team headed by Frs. Oswald Firth and Clement Waidyasekara to begin a Theologate, directed by the Religious Congregations in Sri Lanka, for the contextual formation/ accompaniment of their members. It should very well be a desired goal of the Leaders / Provincials of the Religious Congregations.
Besides being a formator/accompanier at the Oblate Scholasticate, I was entrusted also with the task of editing and publishing our Oblate journal, ‘The Missionary Oblate’. To maintain the quality of the journal I continue to depend on Fr. Aloy for his thought-provoking and stimulating articles on Biblical Spirituality, Biblical Theology and Ecclesiology. I am very grateful to him for his generous assistance. Of late, his writings on renewal of the Church, initiated by Pope St. John XX111 and continued by Pope Francis through the Synodal path, published in our Oblate journal, enable our readers to focus their attention also on the needed renewal in the Catholic Church in Sri Lanka. Fr. Aloy appreciated very much the Synodal path adopted by the Jesuit Pope Francis for the renewal of the Church, rooted very much on prayerful discernment. In my Religious and presbyteral life, Fr.Aloy continues to be my spiritual animator / guide and ongoing formator / acccompanier.
Fr. Aloysius Pieris, BA Hons (Lond), LPh (SHC, India), STL (PFT, Naples), PhD (SLU/VC), ThD (Tilburg), D.Ltt (KU), has been one of the eminent Asian theologians well recognized internationally and one who has lectured and held visiting chairs in many universities both in the West and in the East. Many members of Religious Congregations from Asian countries have benefited from his lectures and guidance in the East Asian Pastoral Institute (EAPI) in Manila, Philippines. He had been a Theologian consulted by the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences for many years. During his professorship at the Gregorian University in Rome, he was called to be a member of a special group of advisers on other religions consulted by Pope Paul VI.
Fr. Aloy is the author of more than 30 books and well over 500 Research Papers. Some of his books and articles have been translated and published in several countries. Among those books, one can find the following: 1) The Genesis of an Asian Theology of Liberation (An Autobiographical Excursus on the Art of Theologising in Asia, 2) An Asian Theology of Liberation, 3) Providential Timeliness of Vatican 11 (a long-overdue halt to a scandalous millennium, 4) Give Vatican 11 a chance, 5) Leadership in the Church, 6) Relishing our faith in working for justice (Themes for study and discussion), 7) A Message meant mainly, not exclusively for Jesuits (Background information necessary for helping Francis renew the Church), 8) Lent in Lanka (Reflections and Resolutions, 9) Love meets wisdom (A Christian Experience of Buddhism, 10) Fire and Water 11) God’s Reign for God’s poor, 12) Our Unhiddden Agenda (How we Jesuits work, pray and form our men). He is also the Editor of two journals, Vagdevi, Journal of Religious Reflection and Dialogue, New Series.
Fr. Aloy has a BA in Pali and Sanskrit from the University of London and a Ph.D in Buddhist Philosophy from the University of Sri Lankan, Vidyodaya Campus. On Nov. 23, 2019, he was awarded the prestigious honorary Doctorate of Literature (D.Litt) by the Chancellor of the University of Kelaniya, the Most Venerable Welamitiyawe Dharmakirthi Sri Kusala Dhamma Thera.
Fr. Aloy continues to be a promoter of Gospel values and virtues. Justice as a constitutive dimension of love and social concern for the downtrodden masses are very much noted in his life and work. He had very much appreciated the commitment of the late Fr. Joseph (Joe) Fernando, the National Director of the Social and Economic Centre (SEDEC) for the poor.
In Sri Lanka, a few religious Congregations – the Good Shepherd Sisters, the Christian Brothers, the Marist Brothers and the Oblates – have invited him to animate their members especially during their Provincial Congresses, Chapters and International Conferences. The mainline Christian Churches also have sought his advice and followed his seminars. I, for one, regret very much, that the Sri Lankan authorities of the Catholic Church –today’s Hierarchy—- have not sought Fr.
Aloy’s expertise for the renewal of the Catholic Church in Sri Lanka and thus have not benefited from the immense store of wisdom and insight that he can offer to our local Church while the Sri Lankan bishops who governed the Catholic church in the immediate aftermath of the Second Vatican Council (Edmund Fernando OMI, Anthony de Saram, Leo Nanayakkara OSB, Frank Marcus Fernando, Paul Perera,) visited him and consulted him on many matters. Among the Tamil Bishops, Bishop Rayappu Joseph was keeping close contact with him and Bishop J. Deogupillai hosted him and his team visiting him after the horrible Black July massacre of Tamils.
Sri Lanka-Singapore Free Trade Agreement
By Gomi Senadhira
senadhiragomi@gmail.com
“You might tell fairy tales, but the progress of a country cannot be achieved through such narratives. A country cannot be developed by making false promises. The country moved backward because of the electoral promises made by political parties throughout time. We have witnessed that the ultimate result of this is the country becoming bankrupt. Unfortunately, many segments of the population have not come to realize this yet.” – President Ranil Wickremesinghe, 2024 Budget speech
Any Sri Lankan would agree with the above words of President Wickremesinghe on the false promises our politicians and officials make and the fairy tales they narrate which bankrupted this country. So, to understand this, let’s look at one such fairy tale with lots of false promises; Ranil Wickremesinghe’s greatest achievement in the area of international trade and investment promotion during the Yahapalana period, Sri Lanka-Singapore Free Trade Agreement (SLSFTA).
It is appropriate and timely to do it now as Finance Minister Wickremesinghe has just presented to parliament a bill on the National Policy on Economic Transformation which includes the establishment of an Office for International Trade and the Sri Lanka Institute of Economics and International Trade.
Was SLSFTA a “Cleverly negotiated Free Trade Agreement” as stated by the (former) Minister of Development Strategies and International Trade Malik Samarawickrama during the Parliamentary Debate on the SLSFTA in July 2018, or a colossal blunder covered up with lies, false promises, and fairy tales? After SLSFTA was signed there were a number of fairy tales published on this agreement by the Ministry of Development Strategies and International, Institute of Policy Studies, and others.
However, for this article, I would like to limit my comments to the speech by Minister Samarawickrama during the Parliamentary Debate, and the two most important areas in the agreement which were covered up with lies, fairy tales, and false promises, namely: revenue loss for Sri Lanka and Investment from Singapore. On the other important area, “Waste products dumping” I do not want to comment here as I have written extensively on the issue.
1. The revenue loss
During the Parliamentary Debate in July 2018, Minister Samarawickrama stated “…. let me reiterate that this FTA with Singapore has been very cleverly negotiated by us…. The liberalisation programme under this FTA has been carefully designed to have the least impact on domestic industry and revenue collection. We have included all revenue sensitive items in the negative list of items which will not be subject to removal of tariff. Therefore, 97.8% revenue from Customs duty is protected. Our tariff liberalisation will take place over a period of 12-15 years! In fact, the revenue earned through tariffs on goods imported from Singapore last year was Rs. 35 billion.
The revenue loss for over the next 15 years due to the FTA is only Rs. 733 million– which when annualised, on average, is just Rs. 51 million. That is just 0.14% per year! So anyone who claims the Singapore FTA causes revenue loss to the Government cannot do basic arithmetic! Mr. Speaker, in conclusion, I call on my fellow members of this House – don’t mislead the public with baseless criticism that is not grounded in facts. Don’t look at petty politics and use these issues for your own political survival.”
I was surprised to read the minister’s speech because an article published in January 2018 in “The Straits Times“, based on information released by the Singaporean Negotiators stated, “…. With the FTA, tariff savings for Singapore exports are estimated to hit $10 million annually“.
As the annual tariff savings (that is the revenue loss for Sri Lanka) calculated by the Singaporean Negotiators, Singaporean $ 10 million (Sri Lankan rupees 1,200 million in 2018) was way above the rupees’ 733 million revenue loss for 15 years estimated by the Sri Lankan negotiators, it was clear to any observer that one of the parties to the agreement had not done the basic arithmetic!
Six years later, according to a report published by “The Morning” newspaper, speaking at the Committee on Public Finance (COPF) on 7th May 2024, Mr Samarawickrama’s chief trade negotiator K.J. Weerasinghehad had admitted “…. that forecasted revenue loss for the Government of Sri Lanka through the Singapore FTA is Rs. 450 million in 2023 and Rs. 1.3 billion in 2024.”
If these numbers are correct, as tariff liberalisation under the SLSFTA has just started, we will pass Rs 2 billion very soon. Then, the question is how Sri Lanka’s trade negotiators made such a colossal blunder. Didn’t they do their basic arithmetic? If they didn’t know how to do basic arithmetic they should have at least done their basic readings. For example, the headline of the article published in The Straits Times in January 2018 was “Singapore, Sri Lanka sign FTA, annual savings of $10m expected”.
Anyway, as Sri Lanka’s chief negotiator reiterated at the COPF meeting that “…. since 99% of the tariffs in Singapore have zero rates of duty, Sri Lanka has agreed on 80% tariff liberalisation over a period of 15 years while expecting Singapore investments to address the imbalance in trade,” let’s turn towards investment.
Investment from Singapore
In July 2018, speaking during the Parliamentary Debate on the FTA this is what Minister Malik Samarawickrama stated on investment from Singapore, “Already, thanks to this FTA, in just the past two-and-a-half months since the agreement came into effect we have received a proposal from Singapore for investment amounting to $ 14.8 billion in an oil refinery for export of petroleum products. In addition, we have proposals for a steel manufacturing plant for exports ($ 1 billion investment), flour milling plant ($ 50 million), sugar refinery ($ 200 million). This adds up to more than $ 16.05 billion in the pipeline on these projects alone.
And all of these projects will create thousands of more jobs for our people. In principle approval has already been granted by the BOI and the investors are awaiting the release of land the environmental approvals to commence the project.
I request the Opposition and those with vested interests to change their narrow-minded thinking and join us to develop our country. We must always look at what is best for the whole community, not just the few who may oppose. We owe it to our people to courageously take decisions that will change their lives for the better.”
According to the media report I quoted earlier, speaking at the Committee on Public Finance (COPF) Chief Negotiator Weerasinghe has admitted that Sri Lanka was not happy with overall Singapore investments that have come in the past few years in return for the trade liberalisation under the Singapore-Sri Lanka Free Trade Agreement. He has added that between 2021 and 2023 the total investment from Singapore had been around $162 million!
What happened to those projects worth $16 billion negotiated, thanks to the SLSFTA, in just the two-and-a-half months after the agreement came into effect and approved by the BOI? I do not know about the steel manufacturing plant for exports ($ 1 billion investment), flour milling plant ($ 50 million) and sugar refinery ($ 200 million).
However, story of the multibillion-dollar investment in the Petroleum Refinery unfolded in a manner that would qualify it as the best fairy tale with false promises presented by our politicians and the officials, prior to 2019 elections.
Though many Sri Lankans got to know, through the media which repeatedly highlighted a plethora of issues surrounding the project and the questionable credentials of the Singaporean investor, the construction work on the Mirrijiwela Oil Refinery along with the cement factory began on the24th of March 2019 with a bang and Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and his ministers along with the foreign and local dignitaries laid the foundation stones.
That was few months before the 2019 Presidential elections. Inaugurating the construction work Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said the projects will create thousands of job opportunities in the area and surrounding districts.
The oil refinery, which was to be built over 200 acres of land, with the capacity to refine 200,000 barrels of crude oil per day, was to generate US$7 billion of exports and create 1,500 direct and 3,000 indirect jobs. The construction of the refinery was to be completed in 44 months. Four years later, in August 2023 the Cabinet of Ministers approved the proposal presented by President Ranil Wickremesinghe to cancel the agreement with the investors of the refinery as the project has not been implemented! Can they explain to the country how much money was wasted to produce that fairy tale?
It is obvious that the President, ministers, and officials had made huge blunders and had deliberately misled the public and the parliament on the revenue loss and potential investment from SLSFTA with fairy tales and false promises.
As the president himself said, a country cannot be developed by making false promises or with fairy tales and these false promises and fairy tales had bankrupted the country. “Unfortunately, many segments of the population have not come to realize this yet”.
(The writer, a specialist and an activist on trade and development issues . )
US sports envoys to Lanka to champion youth development
Rahuman questions sudden cancellation of leave of CEB employees
