ECONOMYNEXT – SriLankan Airlines has lost 60 million dollars on a fleet of new Airbus A320 variant acquired in 2018 which were grounded due to defects in their CFM LEAP engines, Minister of Ports and Civil Aviation Anura Karunathilaka said.
SriLankan had started discussions on acquiring the A321 aircraft in 2017 and concluded them in 2028.
The CFM-LEAP engines had design defects and they started giving trouble, leading the six aircraft being grounded, he said.
“By October 31, these aircraft had been grounded for 131 months,” Minister Karunathilaka said.
“One of these aircraft is still not flying. During this time, without any revenue 60 million had to be paid for these aircraft.”
Losses increased because there was no proper agreement to maintain the engines when the aircraft was leased, he said.
“As a result 71 million US dollars had to be paid for maintenance,” Minister Karunathilaka said. “We forecast that in the next few years another 171 million dollars would have to be spent. This burden falls on the entire nation.”
In 2025, out of SriLankan Airline’s of 29 million US dollars, and maintenance costs were 23 million dollars, he said.
In 2018, the then management had decided to go with CFM-LEAP engines for the six A320 aircraft the airline acquired, though SriLankan usually gets aircraft with Rolls Royce, engines he said.
Other airlines also had to suffer due to A320 engine problems, Minister Karunathilaka said.
At the time of the development of the Airbus 321NEO, Rolls Royce had decided to exit the smaller engine market, and CFM and Pratt Whitney were the choices available, industry analysts say.
However, airlines which bought A320NEO with the PW1000 series (GTF) engines had run now into even bigger problems. About half the fleet equipped with the GTF of around 1,200 aircraft are estimated to be grounded as of November 2025.
READ MORE : India’s Go First airline files for bankruptcy, blames Pratt & Whitney engines
https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/indias-cash-strapped-go-first-airways-suspends-flights-et-2023-05-02/
There are long lead times for repairs and parts of the PW engines also.
Global Engine Shortages – mostly A320 Pratt & Whitney GTF – Force Nearly-New A320 Airbus Aircraft to Be Dismantled
Working PW engines are now being hired out at such high prices (supposedly at 200,000 dollars a month) that some A320 owners are taking out engines, renting them and stripping down new A320s and selling them for parts, which is more profitable reports say.
Some industry analysts maintain that high oil prices and the push for fuel efficiency had made engine makers to prioritize fuel efficiency and innovation over durability.
READ MORE : Pratt & Whitney GTF Engine: An Aviation Climate Solution?
Oil was only 16 dollars a barrel when US macro-economists started to print money to reflate the economy. (Colombo/Nov26/2025)
