Upali Air

Upali Air is one of the defunct airlines of Sri Lanka. It was the island's first domestic airline.

Upali Air
IATA ICAO Callsign
UPALI
Founded1968
Commenced operations1968
Ceased operations1984
HubsRatmalana Airport
HeadquartersColombo, Ceylon
Key peopleUpali Wijewardene

History

Upali Air was founded at the end of the 1960s by Sri Lankan entrepreneur Upali Wijewardene.[1] This businessman was well known for his skill in buying companies in the brink of bankruptcy and making them successful. The toffees produced by his confectionery factory are still famous throughout Sri Lanka.

Upali Air began operating with a single 20-seat De Havilland Twin Otter airplane. Later other small airplanes were added to its fleet.

This company ceased to exist not long after Upali Wijewardene's untimely death in an air crash in February 1983, when he was only 45 years old. The Learjet 35A in which Wijewardene crashed was also a registered aircraft of the airline.[2] Although other companies of the Upali group continued operating after the founder's death, the beginning of the Sri Lankan Civil War between the LTTE and the Sri Lankan government spelled doom for this small airline. The increased controls and security measures, along with the conversion of certain civilian airfields, such as Ratmalana Airport, into military bases for the Sri Lankan Air Force, made Upali Air's operation no longer viable.

Terminated Routes
Country-City Airport Code Airport Name Notes Refs
IATAICAO
ColomboRMLVCCCRatmalana AirportTerminated

Formerly operated
Aircraft Fleet Introduced Retired
Bell 206 L 1 TBA TBA
Cessna 152 II 1 TBA TBA
Cessna U206G 1 TBA TBA
De Havilland Twin Otter 1 TBA TBA
Learjet 35A 1 TBA TBA

Accidents and incidents

On 13 February 1983, a Learjet 35A carrying the company founder Upali Wijewardene took off from Kuala Lumpur at 8:41 pm, bound for Colombo. On board with him were his Malaysian lawyer S.M. Ratnam, Upali Group Director Ananda Peli Muhandiram, pilot Capt. Noel Anandappa, co-pilot Sydney Soysa, and steward S. Senenakye. Fifteen minutes after takeoff, the aircraft disappeared while flying over the Straits of Malacca. Extensive search operations by air and naval units of Sri Lanka, India, United States, Soviet Union, Australia, Indonesia, and Malaysia failed to locate any evidence of a crash.[3][4]

References
  1. Philip Upali Wijewardene - Features, Online edition of Daily News
  2. Aviation Safety Network
  3. "Malaysian plane revives memories of Upali Wijewardene who disappeared - Sri Lanka News". Sri Lanka News. 2014-03-12. Retrieved 2017-07-09.
  4. Accident description, Aviation-safety.com



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