Emirates SkyCargo has announced the appointment of career air cargo professional Kapila Santhapriya as the airline’s Cargo Manager – Sri Lanka & Maldives.

He succeeds Damian Jayasuriya who retired from the position after 16 years of service with Emirates in Colombo.

No stranger to Emirates and Emirates SkyCargo, Santhapriya has served as Customer Service Agent, Senior Cargo Handling Agent and Cargo Supervisor for the airline in Dubai from February 1992 to May 1995. He was Cargo Manager for Sri Lanka and the Maldives at Cathay Pacific for 10 years prior to his new appointment at Emirates.

Twenty five of his 30-years in the airline sector have been in the air cargo segment.  Santhapriya has participated in numerous cargo industry training programmes conducted by Emirates and other leading international airlines, and completed the SWIRE Management Programme conducted by INSEAD Singapore, in 2010.

In Colombo recently to introduce the new Cargo Manager to key customers and business partners, Ravishankar Mirle, Emirates’ Vice President Cargo Commercial said Emirates SkyCargo’s business is built on stability in management, transparency and objective decision making. “We are confident that Kapila and his team will follow these guiding principles to add value to your business,” he said.

Responding, Santhapriya said he was excited to take on the responsibility of leading the Emirates Cargo team in Sri Lanka and the Maldives to the next level with the support and patronage of the airline’s many clients in the two markets.

According to the latest World Airline Transport Statistics published by IATA, Emirates SkyCargo is now ranked number one amongst the top airlines for scheduled Freight Tonne Kilometres flown internationally. The division, which contributes 15 per cent of the airline’s transport revenue, grew by 9 per cent to US$ 3.1 billion in 2013-14, and increased tonnage by 8 per cent to 2.3 million tonnes.

Emirates has been connecting Sri Lanka to the world through its ever-expanding route network since April 1986. By end July 2014 when runway upgrade work at Dubai International Airport is completed, the airline will resume its full schedule of 34 flights a week from Colombo, comprising of 27 to Dubai and Male and a daily flight to Singapore.