Sri Lanka, Aug. 10 -- Ethiopian Airlines is state-owned and generating US$9.1 billion in annual revenue. SriLankan Airlines is state-owned and still depends on the Treasury. The difference is not ownership. It is execution.

SriLankan Airlines does not need another rescue package.

It needs a proven airline turnaround CEO, a clear commercial mandate and the political courage to let that person run the airline.

Sri Lanka has spent years trying to rescue its national carrier. The result? Another restructuring. Another injection of public money. Another management change. Another promise that this time will be different. It is time to stop repeating the same experiment. The question is no longer: How much more money should the Treasury put ...