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©In Retrospect By Sarath Kumar For LankaWeb

Dec.22nd 2007
Sorry Mr Peter Foster, South Asia Correspondent of The Telegraph about your disdain expressed in the item entitled "British Airline Chief Ordered To leave Sri Lanka" where you say, quote~" By telling Mr Hill to pack his bags they are directly insulting the government of the United Arab Emirates since Mr Hill is an Emirates Airlines employee on secondment.
This is corporate governance of the worst possible kind"end quote, which on the other side of the coin can be expressed as a direct insult to the President of Sri Lanka and his entourage who have justifiably taken umbrage at the attitude of an arrogant Peter Hill who has adopted a bourgeoisie where he seems to have mistakenly deluded himself into believing there would be no reprisals!

Mr.Peter Hill the British chief in charge of Sri Lanka's National Carrier has been sent packing as his response has probably been interpreted as one with a neo colonial attitude by some and patronising as far as his status goes as this was the head of a State he was dealing with, who under his direct orders was denied access from flying on the national airline of his own country where no real attempt to find an alternative solution seems to have been made and has apparently been refused unconditionally according to reliable sources.

To make matters worse towards the chagrin of Mr Hill the seats sought by the President was in order to get back to Sri Lanka in time for a crucial budget vote which in all fairness to Mr Hill he may not have been aware of but academic nonetheless. Mr. Hill could in all probabilities have found a means to create the spaces needed as many airlines offer decent incentives in similar situations to ordinary passengers for what in terms of the Presidents need was an urgent one. Mr Hill could have at least attempted to get the President and his immediate entourage, not the entire compliment but some VIPs at least, the necessary seats so there's no need for any condescending newsreporter to whimper about it now.

President Mahinda Rajapaksha is known for his impartiality and for being a reasonable, just and pragmatic person and he has truly been rubbed the wrong way to evoke such a response and not surprisingly so given the circumstances! The Government's behaviour is by no means absurd and embarrassing as alleged as heads of National Carriers in similar circumstances have paid dearly in some cases in the past for lesser faux pas and at times for errors of judgement committed but in this instance the decision of Mr Hill seems to have been irrevokable with no respect for whom he was dealing with and owes the Sri Lankan President a contrite apology! It should remind the likes of Mr Hill that he is neither dealing with a Colonial Era Ceylon nor a namby pamby President in a land which has come a long way from British dominance

According to the telegraph report "The British chief executive of Sri Lankan Airlines has been ordered to leave the island within seven days after he refused to find the country's President and his 35-strong entourage seats on a an over-booked flight from London to Colombo. Peter Hill, 62, who has been credited with transforming the fortunes of the airline during his ten years in charge, has received written notification that his work and residence permits were being revoked and has been given until Dec 28 to leave the country."

While The order is being seen as revenge for Mr Hill's decision to refuse a request from President Mahinda Rajapakse for 18 business and 17 economy class seats on the Sri Lankan flight from London to Colombo last week, it seems puerile to interpret the Sri Lankan' Government's response as revenge as it is not a unilateral decision by the President but a collective one where the response bt Mr Hill has been interpreted as either disrespect or lackadaisical and perhaps justifiably so whatever the case may be!

Obviously, staff at the airline have been left shocked by the Government's move as reported which comes at a critical moment in negotiations to renew a 10-year management deal between Sri Lanka and Emirates Airlines which has run Sri Lankan Airlines on a day-to-day basis since 1998 but if this is the attitude of a man in charge of the Airline Affiliation and its corporate decisions, shown towards a Head of State, all the benefits and perks of the conjoint operation with Emirates probably amounts to very little as there are protocols which have been disregarded here and absolutely no need to tolerate them purely for profit as the good name of the Airline is consequently brought to disrepute on a matter of principle if headed by a bureaucrat.This is what in all probabilities has angered the President of Sri Lanka and his Administration.

Even renewing the deal with the Emirates by the Sri Lankan Airlines on this basis becomes inconsequential !

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