Air Ceylon

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Air Ceylon was Ceylon's (later Sri Lanka's) national carrier that began as Ceylon Airways in 1947, and was fully state-owned. It ceased operations in 1978 and was replaced by Air Lanka.

IATA Code: AE

[edit] History

Initial services, which were domestic and regional, used a Douglas DC-3 Dakota. The home base was Colombo-Ratmalana Airport. On 21 December 1949, an Air Ceylon Douglas DC-3 crashed at Trichinopoly India. [1]. Later a Lockheed Constellation was obtained.

In 1962, services from Colombo-Ratmalana to London were started, using leased British Overseas Airways Corporation BOAC de Havilland Comet 4 jets.

In 1964 the logo was changed from a stylized 'AC' to a gold Hamsa bird on a red ground.

An Avro (Hawker Siddeley) 748 turboprop was obtained in 1964. The type became the mainstay of Air Ceylon's regional and domestic routes and would continue until the airline was closed down.

To supplement the Avro 748, Air Ceylon bought a Nord Aviation Nord 262 for domestic routes in 1967.

In 1967, international services commenced at Bandaranaike International Airport, using BOAC VC-10 jets. In 1969, a Hawker Siddeley Trident jet was obtained for medium-haul routes.

In 1972, Air Ceylon leased a Douglas DC-8 from UTA - Union de Transports Aériens for its European services, which also included Paris. This aircraft was replaced in 1977 by another unit of the same make purchased by the airline. Also leased was a Boeing 720 jet.

The airline was closed down by the Government of J.R. Jayawardene in 1978.