SriLankan Airlines has clarified the speculations circulated on social media regarding SriLankan aircraft uplifting printed material to Entebbe International Airport in Uganda last year.

In a statement issued on 14 April, SriLankan Airlines said it received an air cargo order to transport approximately 102 tons of printed material from Colombo to Entebbe International Airport in Uganda in February 2021.

In April last year, a local news outlet had raised questions with regard to the cargo manifests in an attempt to confirm what exactly the printed material was.

According to the newspaper report, SriLankan Airlines was issued a request under the Freedom of Information Act.

However, citing its inability to disclose the confidential information related to a commercial transaction between the airline and the customer, no related information had been provided.

Over the past few days, social media platforms were abuzz in Sri Lanka regarding the issue, with posts alleging that the flights carried money belonging to some powerful individuals in the country.

SriLankan Airlines, in its clarification, noted that the consignment was purely commercial in nature and brought in much-needed foreign revenue to the airline and country at the time.

The national carrier went on to emphasize that this cargo order was undertaken only for commercial purposes.

Taking to its official Twitter account, SriLankan Airlines said the Ugandan government had ordered Ugandan currency notes from a global security printer who operates several factories worldwide, including one in Sri Lanka, exporting to global markets.

According to the national carrier, the SriLankan aircraft which were underutilised at this time during the pandemic were chartered by a UK based freight forwarder. “What is now being misunderstood is the Airline Pilots Guild proud announcement of this achievement of using unutilised pax aircraft.”

Meanwhile, foreign media reports have shown an abnormal rise in Uganda’s foreign exchange reserves during the period when the said flights arrived.

According to a report, Uganda’s foreign exchange reserves rose to USD 4.4 billion in September 2021 from USD 1.5 billion in the first quarter of 2021.

However, some foreign media outlets reported that this may be due to Uganda having taken advantage of its IMF special drawing rights.