Saudia, formerly known as Saudi Arabian Airlines, is the flag carrier of Saudi Arabia, based in Jeddah. The airline's main hub is at King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah and King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh.
Pakistan International Airlines is an international airline which is the government-owned flag carrier of Pakistan. Its primary hub is Karachi's Jinnah International Airport, while Allama Iqbal International Airport in Lahore and Islamabad International Airport serve as secondary hubs.
Indian Airlines was a state-owned airline in India that later became a division of Air India Limited before ultimately ceasing operations. It was based in Delhi and focused primarily on domestic routes, along with several international services to neighbouring countries in Asia and limited flights to the Middle East and South-East Asia. It was a division of Air India Limited after the merger of eight pre-Independence domestic airlines.
SriLankan Airlines is the flag carrier of Sri Lanka and a member airline of the Oneworld airline alliance. It is currently(as at 2024 April),the largest airline in Sri Lanka by number of aircraft and destinations and was launched in 1979 as Air Lanka following the termination of operations of the original Sri Lankan flag carrier Air Ceylon.
Kish Airlines is an airline operating from Kish Island, Iran. It operates international, domestic and charter services as a scheduled carrier. Its main bases are Kish International Airport and Mehrabad International Airport, Tehran.
Air Astana is an airline group and the flag carrier of Kazakhstan. Based in Almaty, Kazakhstan, the airline, previously jointly owned by the Government of Kazakhstan’s sovereign wealth fund Samruk Kazyna (51%) and BAE Systems PLC (49%), has since February 2024 been publicly listed on the London, Astana, and Almaty Stock Exchanges. It is the largest airline in Central Asia and the Caucasus region with 69% and 40% of market share on domestic and intra-regional routes from Kazakhstan.
Jazeera Airways K.S.C is a Kuwaiti low-cost airline with its head office on the grounds of Kuwait International Airport in Al Farwaniyah Governorate, Kuwait. It operates scheduled services in the Middle East, Nepal, Pakistan, Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka and Europe. Its main base is Kuwait International Airport. The airline has grown since its launch to become Kuwait's second national airline. Jazeera Airways is one of the largest operators at Kuwait airport, having handled a quarter of all aircraft movements and passengers at the airport during July 2009. According to the July 2009 report issued by Kuwait Directorate General for Civil Aviation's, Jazeera Airways had the largest number of aircraft movement in the month with 1834 take-offs and landings, overpassing the second-largest carrier in aircraft movement by 4%.
Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) (Sinhala: බණ්ඩාරනායක ජාත්යන්තර ගුවන්තොටුපළ, romanized: Bandāranāyaka Jātyantara Guvantoṭupaḷa; Tamil: பண்டாரநாயக்க சர்வதேச விமான நிலையம், romanized: Paṇṭāranāyakka Carvatēca Vimāṉa Nilaiyam) (commonly known as Colombo International Airport, Colombo–Bandaranaike International Airport, and locally as Katunayake International Airport) (IATA: CMB, ICAO: VCBI) is the main international airport serving Sri Lanka. It is named after former Prime Minister S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike (1899–1959) and is in the suburb of Negombo, 32.5 kilometres (20+1⁄4 miles) north of the nation's capital and commercial center, Colombo.
Air Ceylon was the former flag carrier airline of Ceylon. 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. Air Lanka was later rebranded to SriLankan Airlines.
Ratmalana International Airport, is the secondary international airport serving the city of Colombo, the capital of Sri Lanka. It was the country's first international airport and was the only international airport in Sri Lanka until the inauguration of Bandaranaike International Airport, Katunayake, in 1967. The airport currently serves several domestic services and is home to several aviation training organisations. A relaxation of rules has recently seen the airport open for international corporate jet operations and charter flights. The airport is located 15 km south of Colombo City.
Air Maldives was the first national airline and flag carrier of the Maldives. It was established on 1 October 1974 during the presidency of Ibrahim Nasir. After operating for about 26 years, the airline declared bankruptcy and stopped all operations in 2000.
The Bandaranaike International Airport attack was a suicide raid Black Tigers of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) on 24 July 2001 on the Sri Lanka Air Force base SLAF Katunayake and the adjoining Bandaranaike International Airport in Katunayake, Sri Lanka. The attack was one of the boldest the LTTE mounted during its war with the Sri Lankan government, and had a profound impact on the country's military, economy, and airline industry.
Lionair was an airline with its head office in the Asian Aviation Centre in Sri Lanka on the grounds of Ratmalana Airport near Colombo. It was a privately owned charter operator. Its main base was Ratmalana International Airport.
Mihin Lanka was a low-fare leisure airline based in Colombo, Sri Lanka. It was owned by the Sri Lankan government. The airline operated scheduled flights from its hub at Bandaranaike International Airport to a number of cities in the Indian subcontinent, the Arab states of the Persian Gulf, Southeast Asia, and Eastern Africa. It code-shared with its partner SriLankan Airlines on several routes, as part of a consolidation exercise between the two airlines.
Jaffna International Airport, formerly known as Palaly Airport and Jaffna Airport, is an international airport serving northern Sri Lanka. It was also a military airbase known as Sri Lanka Air Force Palaly or SLAF Palaly. The airport is located in the town of Palaly near Kankesanthurai, 7 nautical miles north of the city of Jaffna. It is at an elevation of 10 m (34 ft) and has one runway designated 05/23 with an asphalt surface measuring 1,400 by 30 metres.
The Emirates Group is a state-owned Dubai-based international aviation holding company headquartered in Garhoud, Dubai, United Arab Emirates, near Dubai International Airport. The Emirates Group comprises dnata, an aviation services company providing ground handling services at 126 airports, and Emirates Airline, the largest airline in the Middle East. Emirates Airlines flies to over 150 destinations across 6 continents, operating a fleet of over 250 wide-bodied aircraft. The airline has 170 aircraft on order worth US$58 billion. The Emirates Group has a turnover of approximately US$28.3 billion and employs over 105,000 employees across all its business units and associated firms, making it one of the biggest employers in the Middle East. The company is wholly owned by the Government of Dubai directly under the Investment Corporation of Dubai and as part of Dubai Inc.
Lionair Flight 602 was a Lionair Antonov An-24RV which crashed into the sea off the north-western coast of Sri Lanka on 29 September 1998. The aircraft departed Jaffna Airport with 48 passengers and a crew of seven; it disappeared from radar screens ten minutes into the flight. Initial reports indicated that the plane had been shot down by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) using a man-portable surface-to-air missile, which has since been confirmed. All aboard were presumed killed.
Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport (MRIA) (Sinhala: මත්තල රාජපක්ෂ ජාත්යන්තර ගුවන්තොටුපළ, romanized: Mattala Rājapakṣa Jātyantara Guvantoṭupaḷa; Tamil: மத்தல ராஜபக்ஷ சர்வதேச விமானநிலையம், romanized: Mattala Rājapakṣa Carvatēca Vimāṉanilaiyam) (IATA: HRI, ICAO: VCRI) is an international airport serving southeast Sri Lanka. It is located in the town of Mattala, 18 km (11 mi) from Hambantota. It is the first greenfield airport and the third international airport in the country, after Ratmalana International Airport and Bandaranaike International Airport in Colombo.
Emirates, the world's fourth-largest airline by scheduled revenue passenger-kilometers flown and number of international passengers carried, was founded in 1985 by the royal family of Dubai. The airline's first flight was from Dubai to Karachi, Pakistan and Mumbai, India in October of that year. Its first aircraft were provided by Pakistan International. The airline grew rapidly through partnerships and investment to become one of the world's leading air carriers.
The Air Ceylon Avro 748 4R-ACJ bombing occurred on 7 September 1978 when an Air Ceylon Hawker Siddeley HS 748 was destroyed in a fire following the explosion of a bomb in the aircraft while parked at Ratmalana Airport, Colombo, Sri Lanka. At the time, the pilot, first officer, and a ground crew worker were aboard; all three escaped unhurt.
