Significant milestones in the centenary skies of Sri Lanka

Saturday, 14 December 2013 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

12.09.1911: Arrival of Bleriot aircraft in Sri Lanka in a ship
25.12.1912: Bleriot’s first attempt to fly at the Colombo Race course
07.12.1912: Bleriot performed first successful flight at the Race Course
07.05.1931: Arrival of the first International flight to the Race Course from Mumbai
1934: Establishment of Colombo Flying Club by Sir John Kotalawala
1934: Decision of the State Council to construct an Aerodrome at Ratmalana
07.08.1935: First air competition of Colombo Flying Club

1937: Promulgation of Air Navigation Regulations and Registration of three aircraft in Sri Lanka
28.02.1938: Formal opening of the Ratmalana Airport by Governor Sir Andrew Caldecott
1938: Appointment of the Director of Public Works as Director of Civil Aviation
28.02.1938: Launch of Air Mail service between Colombo and Mumbai
1939: Construction of Palavi Airport at Puttalam as an emergency airfield
1942: Royal Air Force took over control of Ratmalana Airport
30.03.1943: Landing of seaplane at Koggala Lagoon
1945: Commencement of air service between Australia and United Kingdom with a stop in Sri Lanka. Department of Civil Aviation took over the control of Ratmalana Airport
March 1946: Establishment of Department of Civil Aviation
13.11.1946: Landing of Autocrat aircraft of J.P. Obeysekara at Ratmalana with 31 intermediate stops after taking off from London
February 1947: Commencement of air services by Ceylon Airways with three DC-3 aircraft under the Ministry of Communications and Works

10.12.1947: Inaugural flight of Air Ceylon to Madras after name change from Ceylon Airways
01.06.1948: Sri Lanka gave accession to Convention on International Civil Aviation and became a member of the International Civil Aviation Organisation
1949: Commencement of Air Ceylon flights to London
21.12.1949: Accident of Air Ceylon Douglas Dakota (registered VP-CAT) at Tiruchirapalli Airport with no loss of lives but destroying hull
06.11.1950: Opening of Ceylon Air Academy by Prime Minister D.S. Senanayake
1950: Enactment of Air Navigation Act No. 15 of 1950
1951: Incorporation of Air Ceylon with 51% shares owned by the Government and 49% by Australian National Airways
1955: Promulgation of Air Navigation Regulations of 1955
01.11.1957: Handing over of Katunayake Royal Airbase to Sri Lanka by the British Government
1958: Air Ceylon entered into partnership with KLM Royal Dutch Airlines
1960: Commencement of Upali Air, first domestic airliner in Sri Lanka
1963: Commencement of development of Katunayake Airport with financial assistance by the Canadian Government, which includes extension of runway from 1,840 metres to 3,368 metres and construction of a terminal building with a capacity of 150,000 passengers per year

15.11.1968: Opening of the Katunayake Airport for international flights
11.09.1971: Boeing Jumbo jet (B747) operated by Condor German Airline landed at Colombo International Airport
04.12.1974: Martin Air DC-8 aircraft accident at Seven Virgin Hills at Maskeliya, killing 191 persons on board
1976: Commissioning of Primary Surveillance Radar (PSR) at Bandaranaike International Airport in preparation for non-Aligned Nations Conference
15.11.1978: Icelandic Airlines DC-8 accident at Kimbulapitiya, killing 184 out of 264 persons on board
07.11.1978: Explosion of Air Ceylon HS-748 aircraft by LTTE terrorists at Ratmalana Airport
01.09.1979: Birth of Air Lanka and its inaugural flight to Bangkok
1980: Enactment of Airports Authority Act No. 46 of 1979 Establishment of Airports Authority for development, operation and maintenance of civil airports
1982: Total movement of passengers, cargo and aircraft in and out of Sri Lanka exceeded 1,000,000, 50 metric tons and 11,000 respectively

1982: Enactment of Air Navigation (Special Provisions) Act No. 2 of 1982 making provisions appointment of Agent
30.06.1982: Alitalia B747 aircraft with 340 passengers hijacked by Sri Lankan landed at Colombo International Airport
1983: Abolition of the Airports Authority and Appointment of Airport and Aviation Services (Sri Lanka) Ltd., for development, operation and maintenance of civil airports including provision of Air Navigation Services
1984: Commencement of construction of new runway at Katunayake Airport
03.05.1986: Explosion of Air Lanka TriStar L-1011 aircraft at BIA by the LTTE terrorists, killing 14 passengers onboard
22.11.1986: Concord, the world’s first supersonic aircraft operated by British Airways, landed at Bandaranaike International Airport during its round-the world flight
October 1986: Opening of the new runway for commercial operations
1990: Liberalisation of carriage of air freight
1992: Amendment of the Air Navigation Act for elevation of the Post of Director of Civil Aviation to Director General of Civil Aviation
14.09.1995: Commissioning of Secondary Monopulse Surveillance Radar (SSR) at Mount Pidurutalagala
1995: Total movement of passengers, cargo and aircraft in and out of Sri Lanka exceeded 2,000,000, 76 metric tons; and 16,500 respectively
1995: Katunayake International Airport was renamed as Bandaranaike International Airport, Colombo
10.02.1997: ICAO conducts an assessment on the safety oversight capabilities of Sri Lanka;
01.04.1998: Emirates takes control of Air Lanka under a management agreement of 10 years with the Government
29.09.1998: AN-24 aircraft leased by Lion Air flight 602, with 55 persons on board, went missing exactly 10 minutes after takeoff from Jaffna Airport

13.03.2000: ICAO audit on safety oversight capabilities of Sri Lanka
24.01.2001: LTTE infiltrated into the Katunayake Air Force base and destroyed eight military aircraft on the Air Force side and two Airbus A340, one Airbus A330 aircraft and one Airbus 320-200 aircraft
27.12.2002: Abolition of the Department of Civil Aviation and establishment of Civil Aviation Authority of Sri Lanka under Act No. 34 of 2002
2003: Total movement of passengers, cargo and aircraft movements in and out of Sri Lanka exceeded 3,000,000, 112 metric tons and 22,500 respectively
30.11.2004: ICAO audit on safety oversight capabilities of Sri Lanka
2004: Total movement of passengers, cargo and aircraft in and out of Sri Lanka exceeded 4,000,000, 152 metric tons and 30,000 respectively
15.11.2005: Bandaranaike International Airport expansion projects under the Stage 1, Phase II Expansion Project opened with a pier with eight aero-bridges
27.10.2006: Birth of Mihin Lanka as a fully State-owned company fully funded by the General Treasury
24.04.2007: Commencement of commercial by Mihin Lanka Ltd.
20.02.2009: LTTE terrorists attack Colombo city using two light aircraft
27.11.2009: Launch of the project for the construction of international airport at Mattala, Hambantota
2010: Total movement of passengers, cargo and aircraft movements in and out of Sri Lanka exceeded 5,000,000, 167 metric tons and 35,000 respectively

06.07.2010: The Government of Sri Lanka buys Emirates stakes in SriLankan
24.10.2010: ICAO audit on safety oversight capabilities of Sri Lanka
24.10.2010: ICAO conducted an audit on the safety oversight capabilities of Sri Lanka;
2011: Total movement of passengers, cargo and aircraft in and out of Sri Lanka exceeded 6,000,000, 200 metric tons and 43,600 respectively
04.02.2011: Civil Aviation Act No.10 of 2010 was enforced
25.04.2011: Laying of foundation stone for the construction of passenger terminal at Mattala airport with capacity of one million passengers per annum
08.01.2012: Landing of Emirates A380 aircraft at Bandaranaike International Airport
24.05.2012: ICAO conducted an audit on aviation security oversight capabilities of Sri Lanka
16.10.2012: The first aircraft engaged in flight calibration landed at Mattala International Airport
07.12.2012: Centenary celebration
18.03.2013: Opening of Mattala Mahinda Rajapaksa International Airport and declared as National Civil Aviation Day of Sri Lanka
11.06.2013: Laying foundation for CAA Mattala Office
07.12.2013: International Civil Aviation Day – 101 years of aviation in Sri Lanka

Discover Kapruka, the leading online shopping platform in Sri Lanka, where you can conveniently send Gifts and Flowers to your loved ones for any event including Valentine ’s Day. Explore a wide range of popular Shopping Categories on Kapruka, including Toys, Groceries, Electronics, Birthday Cakes, Fruits, Chocolates, Flower Bouquets, Clothing, Watches, Lingerie, Gift Sets and Jewellery. Also if you’re interested in selling with Kapruka, Partner Central by Kapruka is the best solution to start with. Moreover, through Kapruka Global Shop, you can also enjoy the convenience of purchasing products from renowned platforms like Amazon and eBay and have them delivered to Sri Lanka.