Lanka's aviation service marks milestone

by P. Krishnaswamy

The Sri Lankan aviation service that was started in 1912, in a historically significant point of time, marks its 101st anniversary today.

Taking off

Mattala Airport Terminal Building

On a bright morning in December 1912 , two Frenchmen, Georges Verminch and Marc Pourpre, managed to take-off in the Bleriot aircraft at the Colombo Race Coursed grounds , fly and land safely thus recording the 'First Flight' in the skies of Sri Lanka. The aircraft had an Anzani 25 horse power engine and was built in France. The aeroplane was rated as the best flying machine in the world, after Louis Bleriot flew it across the English Channel from Calais to Dover on July 25, 1909. The Bleriot aircraft did not fly during the first few months after its arrival in Sri Lanka. It had been exhibited in different locations and people had bought tickets to see the wonder machine that was capable of travelling in air.

Today, the Sri Lankan Airlines owns 21 aircraft , including seven A 330 200 and eight A3 320 200 , and operates services to most of the world destinations. In the ancient times Ussangoda in Ambanlantota - the present Hambantota - was landing pad of King Ravana's flying craft 'Dandu Monara' (the peacock chariot') , according to Hindu mythology. Under President Mahinda Rajapaksa's long-cherished ambition and vision Hambantota now has the Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport (MRIA). The airport, declared open by the President on March 18, 2013 is the newest and most developing airport in Sri Lanka and also the first greenfield airport. It has the capacity to annually handle 150,000 tonnes of cargo and 45,000 aircraft movement, its infrastructure facilities include 20 parking bays and 15 aero bridges.

The prestigious aviation service of Sri Lanka has many achievements to its credit. The Air Ceylon achieved the distinction of one of the world's safest airlines, never recording a single passenger fatality throughout its 32-year history, apart from an accident on 21 December 1949 in which Douglas C-47 Dakota (registered VP-CAT) was damaged beyond repair in a crash landing at Tiruchirapalli Airport following a scheduled passenger flight from Jaffna. The 21 passengers and three crew members survived the accident. Air Lanka was set up by the Government of Sri Lanka in July 1979 following the closure of Air Ceylon in 1978.

In 1947, the Government purchased three war-surplus Douglas DC 3 Dakota aeroplanes. The DC-3s were all named after queens Sita Devi, Viharamaha Devi and Sunethra Devi a tradition which continued for some years. But the birth of the new State airline was still a few months in the future. So the three aircraft, under the aegis of the Civil Aviation Department, were extensively used for pilot training and route proving duties. In June 1947, at the suggestion of Sir John Kotelawala, Viharamaha Devi flew to London to collect a valuable cargo of electoral registers for the coming elections.

During its life span from 1947 to 1978, Air Ceylon entered into partnership with four international airlines viz. Australian National Airways (ANA), KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) and French airline UTA. Becoming Air

Ceylon's fourth international partner in 25 years, UTA provided a Douglas DC-8 jet for the long-haul services. Originally operated by UTA pilots with Sri Lankan cabin attendants, the DC-8 was subsequently bought outright by Air Ceylon and flown with a 100 percent Air Ceylon crew. This purchase was applauded as a breakthrough in Air Ceylon's struggle to shed the shackles of foreign influence. Air Ceylon had, at last, come of age. As the last of the airline's faithful DC-3s were phased out, a second Avro HS 748 was bought.

However before long, the first signs began emerging that all was not well with the national carrier. Authorities in Europe impounded a DC-8 for non-payment of fuel bills, and staff morale plummeted when international services were suspended towards the end of 1977. A reduced domestic and regional operation soldiered on valiantly with the Trident and two Avros.

On September 7, 1978, Air Ceylon suffered a cruel blow. One of the Avros, just back from a trip to Jaffna, which parked at Ratmalana was exploded by a bomb planted inside aircraft, reducing it to a charred, twisted hulk.

Miraculously no lives were lost. The surviving Avro and Trident struggled to maintain a semblance of an operation.The airline's golden aircraft was the Lockheed L1011 Tristar, which served the airline from 1980 to 2000. Air Lanka, which was state-owned, was part-privatized to the Dubai-based Emirates Group in 1998, when Emirates and the Sri Lankan Government signed an agreement for a ten-year strategic partnership. The management contract between Emirates and the Sri Lanka Government expired on March 31 2008. Emirates sold its stake in shares to the Government of Sri Lanka at US$ 53 million in 2010, thus ending any affiliations the two airlines had with. The airline joined the one world alliance in 2012. Mihin Lanka which was incorporated on October 27 2006 is a low-fare airline based in Colombo, Sri Lanka. It is wholly owned by the Sri Lankan government and commenced operations on 24 April 2007. The airline operates scheduled flights from its hub at Bandaranaike International Airport to a number of cities in the Indian subcontinent, the Gulf States and Southeast Asia. It code-shares with its partner SriLankan Airlines on several routes, as part of a consolidation exercise between the two airlines.

In response to a recommendation made by the International Civil Aviation Organisation for enhancement of the State's capability to conduct Safety Oversight functions, the Government abolished the Department of Civil Aviation in 2002 and created Civil Aviation Authority of Sri Lanka in terms of Civil Aviation Authority of Sri Lanka Act No.34 of 2002.

The Government created an Airport Authority in 1979 for the development, operation and maintenance of civil airports in Sri Lanka and it survived only for three years. In 1983, the Government created an Agent established under the Companies Act to succeed the Airports Authority and to also provide Air Traffic Services which were hitherto handled by the Department of Civil Aviation. The Agent was identified as the Airports and Aviation Services (Sri Lanka) Ltd., which has later being identified as the Statutory Service Provider. Under the Civil Aviation Act. Katunayake International Airport was developed under the Canadian Government's assistance in 1963. With the development work was completed in 1968, International air transport operations were shifted from Ratmalana to Katunayake. The airport had a passenger handling capacity of 1.5 million per annum at the beginning and it was subsequently expanded to 6 million passenger per annum with one pier and connecting eight aerobridges, under the Stage I-Phase II of the Airport Development Program which was completed in November 2005.