Emirates SkyCargo veteran Nihal Wickrema has joined US carrier National Airlines as vice president of strategy and revenue optimisation.

An operational strategist by nature with over 30 years of experience across cargo charters and freighter operations, Nihal has held key positions in different capacities throughout his career. He joined Emirates’s cargo division in the early 90s, where he grew to become one of their key architects in designing and implementing processes and controls for freighter operations.

His overall operational experience boasts of a wide range of aircraft types such as the B777, B747, B707, B727, A380, A310, A330. In addition, he brings in an in-depth knowledge in capacity control and was instrumental in the establishment of the trucking network for Emirates SkyCargo.

In the past, Nihal also worked as a licensed aviation instructor at Air Lanka (now Sri Lankan Airlines). With a rapidly expanding fleet of B747s at National Airlines, he will be stationed at the corporate headquarters in Orlando, Florida.