War years and post-war boom
View(s):Part 2 of Capt. Nimal Rambukwelle’s article on the 90-year history of the Ratmalana Airport
In November 1940, Ratmalana was requisitioned by the RAF (Royal Air Force), its runway extended and paved to a likely length of 4000 ft by 1942. The base was renamed RAF Seruwa and became a joint base for the RAF and the Fleet Air Arm squadrons (FAA).
By April 1942, during the Japanese air raid on Colombo, Ratmalana was home to RAF No. 30 Squadron and FAA Squadrons 803 and 806.
WW2: RAF No. 30 Sqn Hurricane at Ratmalana
1944
From 1944, Qantas extended its ‘Indian Ocean Service’, based at Koggala Lake, to operate from Ratmalana with Liberators and Avro Lancastrian aircraft. This was the only wartime civilian air-service, which carried high- priority passengers and mail between Ceylon and Australia in great secrecy through Japanese-controlled airspace. By September 1944, the Liberators were flying between Perth and Ratmalana every ten days.
Post Second World War
After WWII, Ratmalana entered a period of rapid growth, reflecting the post-war boom in commercial aviation and the arrival of larger, more advanced aircraft. The airport began handling aircraft such as Handley Page Haltons, Avro Yorks, and later the Canadair DC-4 Argonauts, enabling long-haul flights with greater passenger capacity. At the time, the only local organisations using Ratmalana were the Aero Club and the Colombo Flying Club of Ceylon.
Runway repair
With the inauguration of Air Ceylon in the late 1940s, Ratmalana Airport soon became the hub of international air travel to and from the island. By the early 1950s, major carriers such as British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC), Trans World Airlines (TWA), Air France, and KLM (Royal Dutch Airlines) — alongside Air Ceylon’s own Douglas DC-4s – began regular operations, ushering in a new era of aviation.
Soon after, the world’s first commercial jetliner, the de Havilland Comet, also touched down at Ratmalana, marking a milestone in Ceylon’s aviation history.
Circa 1951: The Air Ceylon DC4 being prepared for a flight (note the Air Ceylon DC3 parked inside the hangar)
However, the growing traffic and heavier aircraft quickly exposed the airport’s limitations. The runways, designed for lighter planes, began to crack under the weight of modern airliners. Engineers had to carry out extensive repairs and reinforcements to cope with the stresses of the jet age.
For the five months that the runway was under repair, all commercial flights – except Air Ceylon’s DC-3’s and Indian Airlines’ Vickers Vikings– were diverted to Katunayake, a former RAF base north of Colombo now with the Royal Ceylon Air Force (RCyAF).
However, recognising the need for a more advanced facility, plans were subsequently drawn up for a new international airport at Katunayake, as Ratmalana could not be expanded due to geographical and operational constraints.
Ratmalana continued to be utilized for domestic services by Air Ceylon’s regional service and Indian Airlines. In addition, a few charter companies operating older aircraft types, along with the Air Academy, conducted flying training and recreational flying from the airport.
However, this activity declined following the closure of Air Ceylon by the government, and the airline’s declaration of bankruptcy in 1979. In the early 1980’s, two private companies – Upali Aviation for scheduled internal flights, and Air Taxis for ad-hoc charters and pilot training, filled the vacuum created by the closure of Air Ceylon.
Sri Lanka’s separatist war
In 1985, due to the escalation of the war against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in the North, the SLAF established a base at Ratmalana.
For a while, civilian air traffic to the northern regions of Sri Lanka continued.
However, even this too was suspended in 1998 after a Lionair Antonov An-24 passenger aircraft flying from Jaffna to Ratmalana went missing soon after take-off, presumably shot down by a terrorist organization, killing all on board.
After the armed conflict ended in 2009, Ratmalana was handed back for civilian use.
Civilian and military aerodrome
In March 2012, a modernization and re-launching effort was made to fully utilize Ratmalana as a domestic and regional airport for civilian operation once again.
Opened in 1935 as Ceylon’s first international airport, Ratmalana has witnessed the full arc of the island’s aviation story – from pioneering commercial flights and wartime operations to its modern transformation.
Today, the airport primarily serves aviation training schools, domestic charter operations, and international corporate jets – marking its return to a civilian-focused role while continuing to uphold its proud legacy.
It is also home to the Sri Lanka Air Force Museum, which preserves the nation’s aviation heritage for future generations.
A very happy 90th birthday, Ratmalana Airport!
(Most of the information for this article was obtained from the Times of Ceylon and the Dinamina newspapers. The records of the RAF Squadrons based at Ratmalana were from Terry Mace, obtained from the Duxford Museum, RAF Hendon and Imperial War Museum in England.
The images were from the National Archives, from DC3 Capt. Biren Molamure from his father’s album and other material from the book ‘Aviation and Ceylon, a Twentieth Century Journey’ by Nimal Rambukwelle, to be published shortly)
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