Singapore Airlines Honours Colombo Station Team at CEO Excellence Awards 2026
Photograph: Daily FT.
Singapore Airlines has recognised its Colombo Station with the CEO Excellence – Fusion Award 2026, celebrating the team’s resilience, close coordination and commitment to service excellence. The recognition is especially notable because it is the second time the Colombo Station has received the Team Award for Airport Operations at the airline’s annual global CEO Excellence Awards.
The award places a Sri Lankan airport team among the airline’s internationally recognised contributors, reflecting work carried out behind the scenes to keep passengers informed and operations moving through a period of considerable pressure. It also brings together the contributions of 14 Colombo Airport Team members and the support of local aviation partners whose cooperation is central to the station’s work.
A second global recognition for Colombo
According to the report published by Daily FT on 6 November 2026, this is the second occasion on which Singapore Airlines’ Colombo Station has received the Team Award for Airport Operations at the company’s global CEO Excellence Awards. The achievement stands as a notable indication of the station’s continued focus on high standards of customer service and operational excellence.
Singapore Airlines named the World’s Best Airline at the 2026 Skytrax World Airline Awards. Against that broader recognition, the Colombo team’s achievement offers a distinctly local perspective: global airline service depends not only on an organisation’s wider systems, but also on the people working at individual stations and the partners who help them serve travellers.
The CEO Excellence – Fusion Award recognises collective effort. At an airport station, service is shaped through many connected responsibilities, including passenger support, operational coordination and communication among organisations working within the airport environment. The recognition of the Colombo team therefore acknowledges the importance of collaboration as well as individual dedication.
Teamwork through a challenging period
This year’s award carries particular significance because it acknowledges the Colombo team’s response to the severe operational challenges that followed Cyclone Ditwah in November and December 2025. During that period, airport operations, ground transportation, and the movement of passengers and resources were affected, placing considerable strain on the station.
The team remained focused on its passengers and worked with airport authorities, ground-handling partners and other stakeholders to navigate the disruption and sustain operations. Through close coordination, clear communication and decisive leadership, the station continued to uphold the service standards associated with Singapore Airlines.
The recognition highlights a form of resilience grounded in practical service: maintaining focus on travellers while conditions are difficult, coordinating across organisational boundaries, and supporting the continuing movement of people and resources. Such work is often less visible than an aircraft’s arrival or departure, yet it is instrumental to the passenger experience.
The award is not a measure of one person’s contribution alone. It reflects a team response and the cooperation required to manage the many interdependent tasks involved in airport operations. For passengers, reliable communication and coordinated support can make a meaningful difference when travel plans are disrupted. The Colombo Station’s recognition therefore speaks to both the strength of its team and the value of sustained cooperation among aviation partners.
Recognising the people behind the station
The award recognises the collective contribution of the Colombo Airport Team: Terence Chew, Dilrukshi Kudaliyanage, Devinda Karunaratne, Windya Malwatta, Chamith Fernando, Alanka Palihawadana, Shehani Thisera, Shehan Dharmadasa, Chetha Gallage, Maleen Niranga, Kevin Weerasinghe, Shehan Lawrence, Iranga Keppetipola and Ann Shamalka.
Naming the team members gives the recognition a human dimension. Behind the station’s service are people whose responsibilities and collaboration help connect airline operations with the needs of passengers. The achievement belongs to the group as a whole, with each person contributing to the shared standard upheld by the Colombo Station.
The station also acknowledged SriLankan Airlines, its official ground-handling agent, and Airport and Aviation Services (Sri Lanka) Ltd. Their support forms part of the wider operational environment in which the Singapore Airlines team works. At an international airport, the quality and continuity of service depend on effective coordination among airlines, airport authorities and ground-handling teams.
Illustrative image: an AI-generated depiction of an airline team celebrating an award; it is not a photograph of the Colombo Airport Team.
A partnership of more than five decades
The recognition also reflects the longstanding partnership between Singapore Airlines and Aitken Spence Aviation, the airline’s General Sales Agent in Sri Lanka. The partnership spans more than five decades and has played a pivotal role in strengthening Singapore Airlines’ presence in the country.
A relationship of that duration represents continuity in an industry shaped by changing travel needs, operational demands and passenger expectations. The latest award recognises the station team, while also drawing attention to the network of professional relationships that supports the airline’s work in Sri Lanka.
For readers at home and abroad who follow Sri Lanka’s aviation sector, the achievement offers a positive example of local expertise being acknowledged within an international airline. It also demonstrates how sustained partnerships and coordinated service can contribute to the experience of passengers travelling through Colombo.
Service that matters to travellers
Airline awards often draw attention to service standards across a network. The Colombo Station’s second Team Award for Airport Operations gives that recognition a specific local setting: a team working alongside airport and ground-handling partners to maintain service for travellers passing through Sri Lanka.
The award follows a demanding period, but the central story is the team’s response: continued attention to passengers, cooperation with partner organisations and a commitment to service. These are practical qualities that matter throughout a journey, particularly when operations are under pressure.
For Singapore Airlines’ Colombo Station, the CEO Excellence – Fusion Award 2026 is both a celebration of its team and an acknowledgement of the partners who contribute to its work. The second recognition is a proud milestone for the individuals named and a welcome account of Sri Lankan aviation professionals earning distinction within a global airline.
Readers interested in related developments can also visit eLanka’s coverage of Sri Lanka’s October 2026 tourist arrivals.
This article was written based on the source https://www.ft.lk/travel-tourism/Singapore-Airlines-honours-Colombo-Station-at-CEO-Excellence-Awards-2026/27-799717, kindly email us at info@eLanka.com.au if any information needs to be corrected.
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