| Saturday
October 11th 2003, was a day when “dreams came true”
for 54 young boys and girls when SriLankan Airlines took them
on a fun-filled, educational flight to the Maldives in celebration
of a century of civil aviation, which falls in December this
year.
These 23 boys and 31 girls, aged between 16 to 19 years, represent
Sri Lanka’s nine provinces, and are those who emerged
winners in a recent quiz titled ‘Pathum Piyapath’
conducted by the Lake House Group of Newspapers in Sinhala,
Tamil and English.
The dream flight for these teenagers began the day before,
when they were hosted to a tea party on the topmost floor
of the tallest building in Colombo - the World Trade Centre.
The Airline invited national celebrities from the sporting,
film and music worlds as special invitees to meet and entertain
these young guests. The group was then taken to a beach hotel
in Negombo for the night so that the logistics of taking a
flight to Male early the following morning were easier.
Flight UL 101 left Colombo at 0725 hours and arrived in Male
at 0750 hours.
In the Maldives the group had a busy schedule which included
a possible meeting with the Maldivian President, His Excellency
Abdul Gayoom, and a tour of Male before the group went to
the Ranali island resort for lunch. The evening was a time
for fun and games and concluded with a presentation on aviation
before the Colombo bound flight departed at 2205 the same
day.
Head of Corporate Communications, Chandana de Silva, said
that SriLankan Airlines was delighted to organize an event
particularly of this nature. “A century of civil aviation
is indeed a milestone in contemporary history. We’re
happy we have been able to transform these teenagers’
dream into reality by taking them on this memorable trip to
Male. Who knows there might even be future pilots, flight
engineers and chief stewardesses among our young guests?”
“Given their age, this would be an ideal opportunity
to spark their imagination and broaden their horizons as they
embark on young adult life. While our guests were in Male
for the day, we also made arrangements to take their parents
/ guardians on a familiarization tour of the Bandaranaike
International Airport at Katunayake”, de Silva added.
Although the official date is 17th December this year, celebrations
to mark 100 years of civil aviation have already begun around
the world, with Sri Lanka making a significant contribution
to the event.
Corporate Communications Department
SriLankan Airlines
|
