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IATA Agents Association of Sri Lanka (IAASL)

Welcome to the homepage of the IATA Agents Association of Sri Lanka.


FORM The IATA Agents Assocation of Sri Lanka (IAASL) was incorporated as a Company Limited by Guarantee on 11 June 2013. As an assocation, it was formed in 1988.  

MISSION To represent, safeguard and nurture the interest of all its members

OBJECTIVES To work in close liaison with all business partners in the travel industry, formulate industry policies and standards, in order to achieve maximum profitability for each and every member while providing an ethical service to the end user.

The IATA Agents Association of Sri Lanka is an association of Travel Agents accredited by the International Air Transportation Association. It has grown over the past 12 years into an entity of high repute, accepted for its reliability and standards by travelers, at home and across the world. The association derives its strength primarily from its membership of 80 top Travel Agencies Located within the commercial hubs of Sri Lanka. This is a grouping of professionals dedicated to offering their customers the best service standards possible, on par with the highest and most advanced international standards.

They were first in the field with the internet advantage providing discerning regular customers in the Corporate and Independent sectors, with the facility of making travel arrangements direct, from their offices and homes. A continuous commitment to adopting themselves to Sri Lankan expectations also contributes to the position they now enjoy as market leaders. The Council directs its activities in a wide field, concentrating on uplifting the standards of the Industry together with our main business partners. The membership of the IATA Agents Association is clearly a head in Outbound Travel Services where critical parameters of paramount importance have to be set, and when innovative solutions together with sophisticated technology must be deployed.

Ordinary Membership

a) Ordinary membership of the Association shall be restricted to Out Bound Tours and Airline Ticketing Agents who hold the certificate of accreditation from International Air Transport Association and registered with the Civil Aviation Authority of Sri Lanka by the Director General of Civil Aviation Authority under the Air Navigation (Special Provisions) Act No. 55 of 1992.

b) Each member company may nominate by name one representative in writing who could attend meetings of the Association, such representative should be the Chairman , Managing Director , Director or Chief Executive Officer or General Manager of such Member Company or proprietor or partner of such member firm or business undertaken.

Honorary Membership

The general membership shall at an Annual General Meeting or at any Special General Meeting convened for the purpose reserve the right to confer by resolution “Honorary Membership” on a person or persons recognised and recommended by the Executive Council duly adopted by a majority vote of the participants at such general meeting or Annual General meeting. Such a member shall not have voting rights nor shall hold office but may participate at general meetings as an observer. Honorary members shall not be subject to the provisions of Clause 19 of these Articles of Association.

Download Membership Application Form

Executive Council Meeting

The Executive Council (ExCo) of the Association shall meet once every month unless or otherwise postponed with valid reasons which are acceptable by the Executive Council. The Meetings shall be convened at the registered office of the Association or at such other premises determined by the Executive Council, to discuss and decide on matters affecting the industry. However, the President may convene a special council meeting e even at shorter notice to discuss urgent matters affecting the industry. The president May invite any person to attend a meeting of the Executive Council where he considers it necessary for any purpose.

Sub-Committees

Nine Sub-Committees have been formed, both for day to day operations, as well as to achieve the objectives of the association.
1. Finance
2. Airline
3. Industry Regulatory and Government Affairs
4. Membership Screening and meeting organizing
5. Human Resources and Constitutional Affairs
6. Events
7. Diplomatic Liaisons
8. Website Management
9. APJC (Agency Programme Joint Council) Members

Annual General Meeting

The Executive Council of the Association shall meet once every month unless or otherwise postponed with valid reasons which are acceptable by the Executive Council. The Meetings shall be convened at the registered office of the Association or at such other premises determined by the Executive Council, to discuss and decide on matters affecting the industry. However, the President may convene a special council meeting e even at shorter notice to discuss urgent matters affecting the industry. The president May invite any person to attend a meeting of the Executive Council where he considers it necessary for any purpose. The Association shall meet at least once in every calendar year, in accordance with the provisions of section 133 of the Act and this shall be known as the Annual General Meeting. a) To consider and adopt The Report of the Executive Council and the audited statement of Accounts on the business of the Association. b) To consider any resolution of which due notice shall have been given to the Executive Council in writing, not less than 07 days preceding the date of such meeting. c) To appoint the members of the Executive Council for the ensuing year. d) To appoint a qualified Auditor to audit the accounts of the association for the ensuing financial year in terms of the sections 154 and 157 of the Companies Act no. 7 of 2007

Special / Extraordinary General Meeting

a) A Special /Extraordinary General Meeting shall be convened by the President on a written application addressed to the President under registered cover, duly signed, at least by one-third of the members of the Association giving the reasons for convening such meeting. b) The President may summon a Special / Extraordinary General Meeting of the Association if he so desires to discuss matters of importance in the interest of the Association.

Quorum for Meetings

a) The quorum for a meeting of the Executive Council shall be seven (07) members. b) Annual General Meeting or Special General Meeting – A minimum of half plus one of registered Membership should be present in person, in virtual form, or by proxy to form a quorum.

Notice of Meetings

Notice of every Annual General Meeting, General Meeting should be given fifteen working days before the date of the meeting in terms of section 135(1) and (a) of the Act. Or Special/ Extraordinary General Meeting shall be given at least ten working days before the meeting in terms of the Act. Only matters in respect of which due notice has been given shall be taken up at such meetings.

Chairperson of the Meetings

The President/Chairperson shall chair all meetings of the Executive Council or on his absence the Vice President, or on the absence of both the immediate past president shall chair the meeting provide there is a quorum. I) All meetings other than the Annual General Meeting duly convened in Accordance with these Rules, shall be called Extraordinary or Special General Meeting. II) At all meetings of the Association or of the Executive Council, a member shall Have one vote exercisable in person or by an accredited representative in terms of Clause 16 (b) of the Articles of Association.

Amendments

The Articles of Association may be amended at any Annual General Meeting or Special General Meeting by a special resolution duly adopted in terms of the act having first obtained the prior approval of the Registrar -General of Companies in terms of the article 9 of the Articles of Association.

Membership Form

Office Bearers

The following shall be the office bearers of the Association.
The President and the Vice President shall hold office for one year and are eligible for nomination to hold the office for a second term of one year.

Mr. Ziard Wahid
Golden International Travels and Tours (Pvt) Ltd.

Ziard Wahid has been President of the IATA Agents Association since 16 September 2022.

Mr. Sabry Bahaudeen
Classic Travel (Pvt) Ltd.

Mr. Mohammed Sabry Bahaudeen, General Manager and Director of Classic Travel (Pvt) Ltd., is our current Vice President. He is currently President of TAASL, and a Board member of the SLTDA. He is a senior, and leading member of the Travel Industry in Sri Lanka, and has represented the IAASL at many fora.

Mr. Janath Vidanage
Danata Travels and Tours (Pvt) Ltd.

Mr. Janath Vidanage is our Immediate Past President. A veteran of the industry, he counts many years of experience in the Council.

Ms. Ushendrini Amerasinghe
Secretariat, The Ceylon Chamber of Commerce
Ms. Oshadhi Kodisinghe
Company Secretary, IAASL. Secretariat, The Ceylon Chamber of Commerce
Ms. Hesara Umagiliya
Secretariat, The Ceylon Chamber of Commerce

AGM, Council, Key Personalities & Other

The 34th Annual General Meeting of the IATA Agents Association of Sri Lanka (IAASL) was held held on Friday, 16th September 2022 at the Thilanka Hotel, Kandy at 5:30pm.
See AGM NEWS, for more information.

The Annual report and the Audited Accounts for the year ended 31st March 2022 were duly adopted.

Several amendments to the Articles, for which special notice was received by the Secretariat, were passed unanimously

Baker Tilly Edirisinghe & Co. was re-elected as the auditors for the Association for the year 2022/ 2023.



The Official Airline Partner was Oman Air.Oman Air
The Official GDS Partner was Amadeus.Amadeus
Council of the Association

EXECUTIVE COUNCIL OF THE ASSOCIATION

There shall be a Executive Council for the administration of its affairs and for discharging the functions assigned to it by these articles and, until otherwise determined by the members of the association at a special general meeting, the Executive Council shall consist of not less than fifteen (15) members, namely,
The President, Vice President, Immediate Past President and twelve members of the Executive Council.

The Executive Council shall have the right to reject any application for Ordinary Membership without assigning any reason, provided such decision is made by a two-third majority of members present at the meeting of the said Executive Council If an application for membership is rejected by the Executive Council, the Applicant shall be informed accordingly in writing. The Executive Council reserves the right to call an applicant for an interview/discussion before rejection or selection of an applicant for membership.

Executive Council of the IATA Agents Association of Sri Lanka (IAASL) for the year 2022/2023


The office bearers (see picture) appointed are President Ziard Wahid of Golden International Travel & Tours, Vice President Sabry Bahaudeen of Classic Travels and Immediate Past President Janath Vidanage Danata Travels and Tours

The Executive Council comprises Ms. Chamila Wijethunge of Acorn Travels, Nishantha Senaveratne of Aitken Spence Travels, Shimal Thaha of Airtrav, Wilhelm Brown of Alpha Travels & Holidays, Romesh Samaranayake of BOC. Travels (Pvt) Ltd, Ms. Kalpana Fernando of Eigenweg Travels (Pvt) Ltd, Shafeek Ahamed of Hayleys Travels and Tours (Pvt) Ltd, Rohan Jayamanna of Holiday Plan DMC (Pvt) Ltd, Murtaza Mustafa of MSA Travels & Tours (Pvt) Ltd, Rizwan Rameize of Scenic Ventures (Pvt) Ltd, Shamraz Thasleem of TGL Travels & Tours (Pvt) Ltd, Rajeev Aloysius of Tourama (Pvt) Ltd, Mumthazer Mahir of The Travel Port (Pvt) Ltd, Duminda Kuruwitaarachchi of Travel Outlook (Pvt) Ltd

Given below, in no particular order, are a small selecton of key personalities who have given of their time recently at the Executive Council, towards the achievement of the objectives of the IAASL. Their hard work, enthusiasm and commitment will keep the Association's flag flying high over many years.

  • 1. Mr. Wilhelm Brown of Alpha Travels & Holidays (Pvt) Ltd
  • 2. Mr. S. Paramanathan of Atlas Lanka (Pvt) Ltd
  • 3. Mr. Romesh Samaranayake of B O C Travels (Pvt) Ltd
  • 4. Mr. Sabry Bahaudeen of Classic Travels (Pvt) Ltd
  • 5. Mr. Janath Vidanage of Danata Travels & Tours (Pvt) Ltd
  • 6. Mr. Sanjay Weerakoon of Delair Travels (Pvt) Ltd
  • 7. Mr. Brighton Alexander of Ganlo Travels & Tours (Pvt) Ltd
  • 8. Mr. Ziard Wahid of Golden International Travels & Tours (Pvt) Ltd
  • 9. Mr. Hussain Habeeb of Hemas Travels (Pvt) Ltd
  • 10. Mr. Jude Condrad of Himpras Tours (Pvt) Ltd
  • 11. Mr. Rizwan Ramieze of Scenic Ventures (Pvt) Ltd
  • 12. Mr. Saman Premakumara of Travel World (Pvt) Ltd
  • 13. Mr. Rizmy Riyal of The Traveller Global (Pvt) Ltd
  • 14. Mr. Nishantha Senaveratne of Aitken Spence Travels (Pvt) Ltd

We have been led by these luminaries of the travel industry since 1988.

  • Mr. Udaya Nanayakkara of Ceylon Carriers Travels and Tours (1988-90)
  • Mr. Tissa Molligoda of Mackinnons Travels Ltd (1991-92)
  • Mr. Jinendra Ediriweera of Ceylon Tours (1992-93)
  • Mr. Udaya Nanayakkara of Ceylon Carriers Travels and Tours (1993-94)
  • Mr. Imtiaz Esufally of Hemas Travels (Pvt) Ltd (1994-95)
  • Mr. Trevor Rajaratnam of Mackinnons Travels Ltd (1995-96)
  • Mr. Nihal Perera of Sparklink Travels (Pvt) Ltd (1996-97)
  • Mr. Nilmin Nanayakkara of NKar Travels (Pvt) Ltd (1997-98)
  • Mr. Ananda Dhatabaya of Thomas Cook (1998-99)
  • Mr. Bernard Wijetunge of Gabo Travels (1999-2000)
  • Mr. Trevor Rajaratnam of Mackinnons Travels Ltd (2000-01)
  • Mr. Suresh Mendis of Classic Travels (Pvt) Ltd (2001-02)
  • Mr. Ahintha Amerasinghe of WorldLink Travels (Pvt) Ltd. (2002-03)
  • Mr. V. Mahadevan of Pyramid Air Services (Pvt) Ltd (2003-04)
  • Mr. Trevor Rajaratnam of Mackinnons Travels Ltd (2004-05)
  • Mr. Suresh Mendis of Classic Travels (Pvt) Ltd (2005-06)
  • Mr. Dino de Fonseka of Delair Travels (Pvt) Ltd (2006-07)
  • Mr. Riza Ahamat of Hemas Travels (Pvt) Ltd (2007-08)
  • Mr. Rizmy Riyal of The Traveller Global (Pvt) Ltd (2008-09)
  • Mr. Bernard Wijetunge of Gabo Travels (2009-10)
  • Mr. Rodney Koelmeyer of Superlink Travels (Pvt) Ltd (2010-12)
  • Mr. S. Paramanathan of Atlas Lanka Travels (Pvt) Ltd (2012-14)
  • Mr. Rizmy Riyal of The Traveller Global (Pvt) Ltd (2014-15)
  • Mr. Jude Condrad of Himpras Travels (Pvt) Ltd (2015-16)
  • Mr. Tillak Wickramasinghe of Skyways (2016-17)
  • Mr. Channe Wijemanne of George Steuart Travels (Pvt) Ltd.(2017-18)
  • Mr. Rizmy Riyal of The Traveller Global (Pvt) Ltd (2018-19)
  • Mr. Nishantha Senaveratne of Aitken Spence Travels (Pvt) Ltd (2019-20)
  • Mr. Tillak Wickramasinghe of Skyways Travel Solutions (Pvt) Ltd (2020-21)
  • Mr. Janath Vidanage of Danata Travels and Tours (Pvt) Ltd. (2021-22)
  • Mr. Ziard Wahid of Golden International Travels and Tours (Pvt) Ltd. (2022-23)

Here are the venues of our recent Annual General Meetings, including those held overseas

  • 2007 - Tuesday, 21 August. Galadari hotel, Colombo, Sri Lanka
  • 2008 - Saturday, 02 August. Royal Cruise hotel, Pattaya, Thailand
  • 2009 - Friday, 04 July. Ashraya international hotel, Bangalore, India
  • 2010 - Thursday, 01 July. Radisson Blu hotel Hong Quan, Shanghai, China
  • 2011 - Rome, Italy
  • 2012 - Saturday, 08 September. Wuhuan hotel, Beijing, China
  • 2013 - Friday, 16 August. The Park Lane hotel, Jakarta, Indonesia
  • 2014 - Thursday, 15 May. APA hotel and resort Tokyo Bay Makuhari, Chiba, Japan
  • 2015 - Tuesday, 19 May. A. Ibrahim Kaptan (dinner cruise on the Bosphorus), Istanbul, Turkey
  • 2016 - Thursday, 26 May. Hilton hotel, Nairobi, Kenya
  • 2017 - Friday, 19 May. Al Falaj hotel, Muscat, Oman
  • 2018 - Sunday, 23 September. Pullman hotel, Baku, Azerbaijan
  • 2019 - Friday, 13 September. ibis hotel, Melbourne, Australia
  • 2020 - Saturday, 19 September. Tangerine Beach hotel, Kalutara, Sri Lanka
  • 2021 - Tuesday, 28 September. Jasmine Hall, BMICH, Colombo, Sri Lanka
  • 2022 - Friday, 16 September. Thilanka hotel, Kandy, Sri Lanka
  • 2023 - TBA