Air Ceylon was the former flag carrier airline of Ceylon (now Sri Lanka). The airline discontinued flights to Europe in early 1978 and finally ceased all local services on 31 August 1979, when it was replaced by Air Lanka and then rebranded to SriLankan Airlines later. History Air Ceylon was established in 1947 as state-owned flag carrier airline. In 1947, the government purchased three DC-3s, which were named after queens Sita Devi, Viharamaha Devi, and Sunethra Devi. On 10 December 1947, with Captain Peter Fernando at the controls and a complement of 16 passengers, Sita Devi took off from Ratmalana runway soon after 8 am, inaugurating the Air Ceylon commercial flights, and headed for Palaly. After a brief stop there, the Dakota proceeded to Madras, returning to Colombo by the same route later that day. Madras-Jaffna-Trichinopoly Douglas C-47 Skytrain services to London with two Douglas DC-4s leased from Australian National Airways (ANA) commenced in summer 1949, after ANA acquired a 49% stake in Air Ceylon earlier that year. Flights to Sydney in co-operation with ANA were started on 20 July 1950 via Singapore and Darwin. In 1949, Australian National Airways (ANA) owned a 49% stake in Sri Lanka's countrywide service. Air Ceylon discontinued all long-haul fights and gave up its partnership with ANA in September 1953 after BOAC had introduced the de Havilland Comet between London and Colombo. The 49 percent stake held by ANA was taken over by KLM in 1955. In 1960s KLM's shareholding reduced to 25%. Flights to London were commenced again on 21 February 1956 using a Lockheed 749A Constellation leased from KLM. The aircraft was replaced by a Lockheed L-1049 Super Constellation in 1958, followed by a KLM Lockheed L-188 Electra that was leased until the partnership with KLM ended in November 1961. A Comet from BOAC allowed the relaunch of flights to London in April 1962. The aircraft was replaced by a leased Vickers VC10 in November 1965. From 1964, the Hawker Siddeley HS 748 became the aircraft mainly used on Air Ceylon's short-haul routes to Madras and Bombay, along with the Aérospatiale N 262 that was bought in 1967. When Bandaranaike International Airport was completed in 1967, Air Ceylon opened its hub there. A Hawker Siddeley Trident jet airliner was purchased in 1969, and it was operated on regional routes until it was withdrawn in August 1979. In 1972, Union de Transports Aériens