Colombo, July 17  - Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa made 978 flights using Air Force helicopters under presidential privilege for domestic flights between 2005 and 2015, while former President Maithripala Sirisena flew 557 times during his five-year tenure, information obtained from the Sri Lanka Air Force Headquarters under the Right to Information has revealed.

This data was disclosed in response to an appeal made by our Sinhala sister paper ‘ADA’ to the Right to Information Commission after the Air Force Headquarters initially failed to provide the requested information. Initially, the request to obtain these details was sent to the Air Force Headquarters on December 5, 2022, but the Air Force failed to reveal the information, leading the newspaper to write to the Right to Information Commission in order to obtain the information.

According to an appeal made to the Right to Information Commission, the Commission issued an order to the Air Force Headquarters on 04.01.2024 under Appeal No. RTIC/Appeal/398/2023. Following that order, the information was provided on July 11, 2024, with only part of the requested information being provided.

The information also reveals that former President Maithripala Sirisena flew 557 times during his five-year tenure under the presidential privilege. He covered a total distance of 131,277.17 kilometres through these internal flights

Comparatively, former President Maithripala Sirisena also utilized Air Force helicopters extensively during his term, with a total of 111 flights annually, surpassing Rajapaksa's 88 annual flights. Both former Presidents have come under scrutiny for their use of public funds for helicopter travel.