A SriLankan Airlines captain has been grounded, after he reportedly locked the first officer out of the flight deck, in a move intended to teach her a lesson…
SriLankan pilot suspended over flight deck behavior
A SriLankan Airlines captain has been suspended, following his actions on a recent flight. Specifically, this happened on September 21, 2024, on flight UL607 from Sydney (SYD) to Colombo (CMB). The flight was operated by a nine-year-old Airbus A330-300 with the registration code 4R-ALR.
According to people familiar with the matter, this incident involves the way in which the first officer took a bathroom break. Under the carrier’s policy, there need to always be two people in the cockpit. Since the lavatory is outside the cockpit, that means a pilot needs to arrange for a flight attendant to enter the flight deck when they go to use the bathroom.
However, the captain reportedly clashed with the first officer, when she stepped out of the cockpit and used the lavatory, without arranging for another crew member to accompany him in the flight deck, in line with standard operating procedures at the airline. It’s not clear why the first officer wasn’t following company procedures.
Cabin crew reportedly had to persuade the captain to let the first officer back into the flight deck. The flight then landed back at its hub without further issues.
This incident is now being investigated by Sri Lanka’s Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), and the airline has stated that it’s “fully cooperating with the relevant authorities, and the captain has been grounded pending the outcome of the investigation.”
SriLankan has been on the verge of collapse for quite some time, given the carrier’s debt. The government has been trying to privatize the airline, with no luck.
What a strange incident this is…
So if I’m understanding this situation correctly, the captain cared a lot about rules being followed, and wasn’t happy when the first officer left the cockpit without finding someone to replace her. Fair enough. But the problem is that his solution was to teach her a lesson by violating the rules even more, and locking everyone else out of the cockpit?
Nowadays airlines have varying policies when it comes to whether there need to be two people in the cockpit at all times. In some countries it’s standard for it to be required, while in other countries it isn’t.
The logic for having two people in the cockpit is primarily to prevent a pilot with a mental health issue from taking control of the aircraft, given that we’ve seen a fair number of pilot suicides over the years, when they were alone in the cockpit.
I’ve gotta say, the concept of a pilot intentionally locking a colleague out of the flight deck and refusing to open the door is kind of terrifying, given the incidents that we’ve seen in the past. Regardless of whether or not he was trying to teach her a lesson, it certainly makes you question the captain’s decision making ability.
Bottom line
A SriLankan Airlines captain has been suspended and is now being investigated, after he locked the first officer out of the cockpit, while enroute from Sydney to Colombo. He reportedly wasn’t happy with the way in which she exited the flight deck without having someone replace her, so his solution was to lock himself in there. It sounds like neither of these pilots have particularly good decision making abilities…
What do you make of this strange SriLankan Airlines situation?
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