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
