 The airport was completed in 1967, and Air Ceylon, the national carrier, began international operations from it using a Hawker Siddeley Trident and a leased British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) British Aircraft Corporation (BAC) VC-10.It was named after former Prime Minister SWRD Bandaranaike, in 1970.It was renamed Katunayake International Airport in 1977, but was changed back to Bandaranaike International Airport in 1995.