Colombo, Jun 29 (IANS): Two Sri Lankan airlines have sought permission to hire foreign pilots, the island nation's Civil Aviation Authority said.

SriLankan Airlines and Fits Air have a serious shortage of pilots, said P. A. Jayakantha, Director General and CEO of the Civil Aviation Authority.

A large number of Sri Lankan aviation industry experts and pilots have left the country in the past six months amid the economic crisis to join foreign airlines that offer much higher salaries, Xinhua news agency quoted Jayakantha as saying.

The Civil Aviation Authority itself has been trying to fill eight main posts which had been vacant for a long time, however, sufficiently qualified people have not come forward for those posts, he said.

About 70 pilots attached to SriLankan Airlines had resigned during the past six months, it was revealed in Parliament last week.

SriLankan Airlines needs 330 pilots to operate its flights optimally, but it now only has 260, opposition leader Sajith Premadasa said.