Misplaced Pages

#365634

89-448: Thiruvananthapuram International Airport ( IATA : TRV , ICAO : VOTV ), is an international airport that serves Thiruvananthapuram , the capital city of Kerala , India. Established in 1932, it is the first airport in the state of Kerala and the fifth international airport of India, officially declared in 1991. It is the operating base of Air India and Air India Express . The airport, spread over an area of 800 acres (320 ha),

178-419: A 19.5 inches wide seat that can be reclined into a 180-degree 79 inches long bed. Each seat has a 15-inch personal IFE system. SriLankan's newest fleet additions will feature Thales Avant IFE, which features modern entertainment features and extended business class seats. Its A330-300 fleet presents an all-aisle access seating in a 1-2-1 arrangement on Business Class. On its A320 and A321 fleet, Business class

267-471: A Category-A airport by developing to aerodrome CODE 4E/4F, constructing a parallel runway with taxiways alongside both runways and so forth. The air traffic control (ATC) tower is 18 m (59 ft) tall. There are plans to build a new 50 m (160 ft) tall ATC tower for Thiruvananthapuram Airport near the new international terminal. The airport has a CAT-1 instrument landing system (ILS), D VOR and distance measuring equipment (DME). The airport

356-634: A Tata company official, and Kanchi Dwarakadas, commercial agent of Travancore in Karachi, with a special mail from the Viceroy of British India, Lord Willingdon, wishing birthday greetings to the Maharaja. The first flight took off on 1 November 1935, carrying mails of Royal Anchal (Travancore Post) to Bombay. In 1938, the Royal Government of Travancore acquired a Dakota as the Maharaja's private aircraft and placed

445-416: A UNP attorney as executive directors. None of them knew how to run an airline. Air Lanka was established as the flag carrier of Sri Lanka once the government shut down the bankrupt Air Ceylon . Air Lanka's initial fleet consisted of two Boeing 707 , leased from Singapore Airlines . One Boeing 737 was leased from Maersk Air and maintained by Air Tara. On 24 April 1980, the lease ended; Air Lanka received

534-422: A WiFi facility. The terminal features spacious lounges, natural lighting with extensive use of glass roofing and better conveyance facilities for passengers. It has three baggage carousels and elaborate immigration/customs facilities. Flemingo , India's first privately owned duty-free operator, is managing the duty-free shop at the international terminal. The domestic terminal has basic amenities including cafés,

623-399: A beer and wine bar, a book-seller, free local calls, a specialised baby care room and phone-recharging points. Into Plane Services fuelling operations handled by IndianOil Skytanking. The domestic terminal was the first terminal of the airport inaugurated by Chief minister of Kerala EK Nayanar in 1992. It has an area of 9,200 m (99,000 sq ft) and can handle 400 passengers at

712-451: A decade-long partnership with Emirates, the name was changed to SriLankan Airlines; the livery was changed into a much simpler one, with an all-white fuselage, covered by blue 'SriLankan' titles, and the tail adorned with the new corporate logo. In May 2014, an Airbus A330 and an Airbus A320 in special oneworld livery was delivered to commemorate the airline's establishment as a oneworld member. Newly delivered aircraft are adorned with

801-407: A floor area of 950 m (10,200 sq ft) and an arrival area of 600 m (6,500 sq ft). To enable the passengers to check in at any counter, a Common Users Terminal Equipment (CUTE) is installed. X-ray machines are attached to the side of the conveyor belts for faster clearance of baggage. The entrance to the terminal is from Chacka-Eenchakkal Road. A bridge has been built across

890-706: A hub for flights to Asia. The first destination of the expansion plan was Shanghai ; the route was initiated on 1 July 2010. The airline commenced flights to Guangzhou on 28 January 2011. SriLankan joined the Oneworld alliance on 1 May 2014. During 2014 it started to renew and increase its fleet, with purchases of Airbus A330 and A350 models. Currently, SriLankan operates an all-Airbus fleet except for its discontinued Air-Taxi services. SriLankan retired their last Airbus A340-300 on 7 January 2016 with its last scheduled flight from Chennai to Colombo. The airline terminated three European routes – Frankfurt, Paris and Rome – by

979-541: A letter of agreement with Adani in September 2020. Adani Thiruvananthapuram International Airport Limited (ATIAL), floated by the Adani Group to run the airport, would operate, manage and develop the airport for fifty years. As per the agreement, ATIAL would get control of the airport only after a concession agreement was executed and the performance bank guarantee was paid and subject to clearance of legal hurdles. For decades,

SECTION 10

#1732868985366

1068-550: A new airport is built, replacing the old one, leaving the city's new "major" airport (or the only remaining airport) code to no longer correspond with the city's name. The original airport in Nashville, Tennessee, was built in 1936 as part of the Works Progress Administration and called Berry Field with the designation, BNA. A new facility known as Nashville International Airport was built in 1987 but still uses BNA. This

1157-684: A redesigned livery accompanying a blue underbelly slogan promoting Sri Lanka as a tourist destination. SriLankan Catering is a wholly-owned subsidiary of SriLankan Airlines, providing flight catering services to all airlines serving the Bandaranaike International Airport . Its other businesses include provision of aircraft maintenance and overhaul services, ground handling services, packaged holiday products, aviation training and IT services. As of September 2024 SriLankan itself flies to 37 destinations and 21 countries. Including code-shares with other airlines, it provides services to

1246-548: A relief flight out of Wuhan , China. SriLankan lost 36.3 billion rupees up to August 2020 and the government approved a voluntary retirement package for 560 employees at a cost of 1.46 billion rupees. From May 2022, due to the ongoing economic crisis in Sri Lanka which resulted in the country facing a fuel shortage, SriLankan's long-haul flights had to make stopovers at Trivandrum , Chennai and Kochi in India to refuel. For

1335-511: A replacement Boeing 737 leased from Royal Brunei . On 1 November 1980, Air Lanka commenced wide-body operations which were leased Lockheed L1011-1 Tristar from Air Canada . On 15 April 1982, Air Lanka purchased an L1011 Tristar from All Nippon Airways . Another L1011 was leased from Air Canada whilst a third was purchased from All Nippon. With the introduction of Tristar aircraft, the Boeing 707 were phased out. On 1 May 1982, HAECO took over

1424-441: A service to Sharjah. On 1 January 1991, TIA was upgraded to an international airport, making it the fifth international airport of India after Delhi, Bombay, Madras and Calcutta. On 1 March 2011, the first flight operated from the new international terminal, Terminal 2. IX 536 (Air India Express) from Sharjah marked the first arrival. Air India Express operated the first departure to Dubai from this new terminal. IndianOil Skytanking

1513-405: A single 3,373 m (11,066 ft)-long runway , equipped to operate any type of aircraft. It has a 1,880 m (6,170 ft)-long parallel taxiway. There are two terminals. Terminal 1 is for domestic flights, and Terminal 2 is for all international flights. The international terminal ground operations are handled by Air India SATS Airport Services Pvt. Ltd. It is fully air-conditioned with

1602-503: A time. The terminal has two Aerobridges and two remote gates. All domestic flights are operated from here. The newly built Terminal 2 has three additional jetways and parking bays to accommodate 8 aircraft. The terminal is built opposite to the current terminal across the runway and is closer to the city side. The terminal, constructed by the AAI and designed by the UK firm, Pascall+Watson Architects,

1691-454: A total of 114 destinations in 62 countries. Its interline partnerships and membership in Oneworld alliance allow it to offer passengers connectivity to over 1,000 cities in 160 countries. SriLankan currently operates to 14 destinations in India, more than any other foreign airline. It is also the largest foreign airline in the Maldives, serving two cities. On 11 June 2012, SriLankan Airlines

1780-499: Is GSN and its IATA code is SPN, and some coincide with IATA codes of non-U.S. airports. Canada's unusual codes—which bear little to no similarity with any conventional abbreviation to the city's name—such as YUL in Montréal , and YYZ in Toronto , originated from the two-letter codes used to identify weather reporting stations in the 1930s. The letters preceding the two-letter code follow

1869-490: Is also equipped with a Mono-pulse Secondary Surveillance Radar , Air Route Surveillance Radar and an Airport Surveillance Radar that allows approach and area control of the airspace around the airport and nearby air routes. Thiruvananthapuram International Airport hosts Air India's narrow-body maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) unit consisting of twin hangars for servicing Boeing 737 type aircraft, servicing mostly Air India Express aircraft. The Maintenance Repair Overhaul

SECTION 20

#1732868985366

1958-600: Is available. However, many railway administrations have their own list of codes for their stations, such as the list of Amtrak station codes . Airport codes arose out of the convenience that the practice brought pilots for location identification in the 1930s. Initially, pilots in the United States used the two-letter code from the National Weather Service (NWS) for identifying cities. This system became unmanageable for cities and towns without an NWS identifier, and

2047-602: Is configured in a 2-2 layout, offering extra reclining seats, each seat with a width of 19 inches and a pitch between 39 and 49 inches. SriLankan provides in-seat entertainment in Economy class on all its wide-bodied aircraft and the vast majority of narrow-body aircraft. On its A330-300 and A320/A321neo aircraft, all cabin classes are provided with the option of paid-for in-flight internet access and mobile telephony services. SriLankan Airlines offer AVOD inflight entertainment on its aircraft. The A320, A321 & A330-200 equipped with

2136-518: Is different from the name in English, yet the airport code represents only the English name. Examples include: Due to scarcity of codes, some airports are given codes with letters not found in their names: The use of 'X' as a filler letter is a practice to create three-letter identifiers when more straightforward options were unavailable: Some airports in the United States retained their NWS ( National Weather Service ) codes and simply appended an X at

2225-483: Is expected to provide impetus to the development of the IT sector and the tourism industry in the southern districts of Kerala . The international terminal covers an area of 35,000 m (380,000 sq ft). It can handle the passengers of three Airbus A340s and one Boeing 747 aircraft simultaneously (roughly 1500 passengers). The annual handling capacity of the terminal will be 1.8 million. The check-in area has

2314-650: Is governed by IATA Resolution 763, and it is administered by the IATA's headquarters in Montreal , Canada. The codes are published semi-annually in the IATA Airline Coding Directory. IATA provides codes for airport handling entities, and for certain railway stations. Alphabetical lists of airports sorted by IATA code are available. A list of railway station codes , shared in agreements between airlines and rail lines such as Amtrak , SNCF , and Deutsche Bahn ,

2403-513: Is in conjunction to rules aimed to avoid confusion that seem to apply in the United States, which state that "the first and second letters or second and third letters of an identifier may not be duplicated with less than 200 nautical miles separation." Thus, Washington, D.C. area's three airports all have radically different codes: IAD for Washington–Dulles , DCA for Washington–Reagan (District of Columbia Airport), and BWI for Baltimore (Baltimore–Washington International, formerly BAL). Since HOU

2492-447: Is in-flight catering to airlines that operate to Bandaranaike International Airport . Its state-of-the-art flight kitchen at BIA has a capacity of 25,000 meals per day. Incorporated in 1979, as Air Lanka Catering Services Limited with BOI status, SriLankan Catering commenced business as a joint venture with Thai Airways International. In 1998 when the joint venture agreement with Thai Airways International lapsed Air Lanka Limited bought

2581-532: Is not followed outside the United States: In addition, since three letter codes starting with Q are widely used in radio communication, cities whose name begins with "Q" also had to find alternate codes, as in the case of: IATA codes should not be confused with the FAA identifiers of U.S. airports. Most FAA identifiers agree with the corresponding IATA codes, but some do not, such as Saipan , whose FAA identifier

2670-616: Is set up on 6.07 hectares (15.0 acres) of land at a cost of Rs. 110 crores. It was commissioned on 16 December 2011. The maintenance of two aircraft can be simultaneously done at the two hangars present at the MRO. The facility is state-of-the-art with 5,000 sq ft (460 m) of workshop, 10,000 sq ft (930 m) apron, electrically operated and vertically moving hangar door system, warehouse and office space. The Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul (MRO) facility of Air India Charters Limited (AICL) at Thiruvananthapuram International Airport

2759-428: Is the flag carrier of Sri Lanka and a member airline of the Oneworld airline alliance . It was launched in 1979 as Air Lanka following the termination of operations of the original Sri Lankan flag carrier Air Ceylon . As of April 2024, it is Sri Lanka's main airline by number of aircraft and destinations. Its hub is Bandaranaike International Airport . Following its partial acquisition in 1998 by Emirates , it

Thiruvananthapuram International Airport - Misplaced Pages Continue

2848-701: Is the company that introduced single-man refuelling in India and started refuelling operations at Trivandrum in March 2016. This was the main hub for the defunct Kairali Airlines from 9 January 2013 to 2017. In November 2018, the Central Government cleared a proposal by the Airports Authority of India (AAI) for leasing out six of its airports, including Thiruvananthapuram. The following month, AAI commenced an international competitive bidding process to award Operations, Management and Development (OMD) contracts for

2937-416: Is used for William P. Hobby Airport , the new Houston–Intercontinental became IAH. The code BKK was originally assigned to Bangkok–Don Mueang and was later transferred to Suvarnabhumi Airport , while the former adopted DMK. The code ISK was originally assigned to Gandhinagar Airport (Nashik's old airport) and later on transferred to Ozar Airport (Nashik's current airport). Shanghai–Hongqiao retained

3026-486: The A330-300 and the future A350-900. As of January 2016, construction of the airline's first Airbus A350-900 started. On 23 February 2015, SriLankan Airlines finalized a deal with Air Lease Corporation and AerCap to acquire two Airbus A321neo aircraft, one from each leasing firm. On 10 May 2016, due to financial difficulties, the airline announced it would cancel its order of eight A350 aircraft. As of December 2019,

3115-551: The Arabian Sea . It is also the southern most international/domestic airport in the Indian subcontinent . The airport is the second-busiest airport in the state of Kerala, eighth-busiest airport in India in terms of international traffic and the 16th overall in India, as of 2024. In the financial year 2023-24, the airport handled over 4.4 million passengers, with a total of over 30,000 aircraft movements. In addition to civil operations,

3204-675: The Bureau of Civil Aviation Security through the Central Industrial Security Force#Airport Security (CISF). In the past, airport security was under the control of airport police (under the state government). However, following the hijacking of Indian Airlines Flight 814 in 1999, airport security was handed over to CISF. Thiruvananthapuram Airport also has advanced security equipment including X-RAY Baggage inspection (X-BIS), Explosive Trace Detection System (ETDS) and provision of an In-Line Baggage Screening system; at

3293-561: The Canadian transcontinental railroads were built, each station was assigned its own two-letter Morse code : When the Canadian government established airports, it used the existing railway codes for them as well. If the airport had a weather station, authorities added a "Y" to the front of the code, meaning "Yes" to indicate it had a weather station or some other letter to indicate it did not. When international codes were created in cooperation with

3382-505: The "Five Precepts" (Pancha Seela) of Buddhism and the three "crown feathers" represent the "Triple Gem" (Buddha, Dhamma, Sangha) of Buddhism. Red reflects the predominant colour in the Sri Lankan national flag, which represents the majority race in the country, the Sinhalese. This was the sole livery of the airline for nearly two decades, from January 1979 to October 1998. After Air Lanka began

3471-450: The NITB, state-of-the-art Closed Circuit Television (CCTV), Flight Information Display System (fids) and Public Address (PA) systems, as well as an Interactive Voice Response System (IVRS) for flight information, are there for passengers' convenience. The In-Line Baggage Screening system (ILBS) was installed at Terminal 2 on 21 July 2020. IATA airport code The assignment of these codes

3560-599: The Parvathy Puthanar canal to link the new terminal to the Kazhakuttam-Inchivila NH (National Highway) 47 bypass. The new terminal has a car park area that can accommodate about 600 cars. There is a pre-paid taxi service counter and foreign exchange (Thomas Cook India) counter in the arrivals area. Thiruvananthapuram Airport was included in the Ministry of civil aviation strategic plan for 2010–2015 to upgrade as

3649-552: The RAVE ZODAIC Inflight Entertainment. The new A330-300 have the latest Thales AVANT Inflight Programme. SriLankan offers onboard WiFi connectivity with new Airbus A330-300 and A320/A321neo fleets in partnership with OnAir. SriLankan is South Asia's first airline to have on-board WiFi capability. SriLankan Catering Limited is the sole airline caterer in Sri Lanka. Its hub is at Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA). SriLankan Catering's main line of business

Thiruvananthapuram International Airport - Misplaced Pages Continue

3738-619: The RFPs, SriLankan received one A320 aircraft on 21 December 2023. The airline names some of its aircraft after historically significant towns and cities in Sri Lanka, with aircraft named after Anuradapura , Yalpanam , Yapahuwa , Sri Jayawardenapura , and others. SriLankan also formerly operated the following aircraft: SriLankan offers two classes of service, Business Class and Economy Class. In Business Class, SriLankan offers full flat-bed seats on all of its long haul fleet with Audio Video on Demand (AVOD) facilities. The fully flat bed seat offers

3827-450: The U.S. For example, several airports in Alaska have scheduled commercial service, such as Stebbins and Nanwalek , which use FAA codes instead of ICAO codes. Thus, neither system completely includes all airports with scheduled service. Some airports are identified in colloquial speech by their IATA code. Examples include LAX and JFK . SriLankan Airlines SriLankan Airlines

3916-481: The United States, because "Y" was seldom used in the United States, Canada simply used the weather station codes for its airports, changing the "Y" to a "Z" if it conflicted with an airport code already in use. The result is that most major Canadian airport codes start with "Y" followed by two letters in the city's name (for example, YOW for O tta w a , YWG for W innipe g , YYC for C algar y , or YVR for V ancouve r ), whereas other Canadian airports append

4005-482: The airline back to the Government of Sri Lanka in a deal that was finalized in 2010, thus ending their partnership. In 2008 when Emirates pulled out, the accumulated profit of SriLankan was Rs. 9.288 billion in that financial year. From 2008 to 2015, when the government ran it, the loss for the seven years was Rs. 128.238 billion (US$ 875 million). Following the ownership transfer, SriLankan began promoting Colombo as

4094-518: The airline to Captain Rakitha Wickramanayake and the board of directors consisting of industry officials and managers. The former Prime Minister of Singapore asked, "How could an airline pilot run an airline?" A 1986 Presidential Commission reported on the mismanagement of the Board of the airline. Under President Wijetunga 's appointment of a retired General as Chairman/MD with Air Vice Marshals and

4183-466: The airline's image and fleet. The government retained a majority stake in the airline but gave full control to Emirates for investment and management decisions. In 1998, Air Lanka re-branded to SriLankan Airlines. SriLankan acquired 6 Airbus A330-200s to complement its fleet of Airbus A340-300 and A320-200 aircraft. The A330-200 aircraft joined the airline between October 1999 and July 2000. The company's fourth A340-300 arrived at Colombo painted in

4272-622: The airline's new corporate livery. SriLankan upgraded its existing A340 fleet into a two-class configuration (business and economy class) whilst overhauling the interior to reflect the new corporate image. The airline gradually increased its number of destinations with more additions for regional markets, notably India and the Middle East. Whilst continuing expansion in the region, SriLankan commenced flying to Jeddah , its third destination in Saudi Arabia, after Riyadh and Dammam , thus increasing

4361-521: The airport has been traditionally pausing operations and reschedules flights twice a year to enable religious processions to pass through the airfield. The airport issues a NOTAM (Notice to Airmen) twice yearly before the runway is closed for the bi-annual Alppasi festival, which falls in October–November, and for the Panguni festival, which is held during March–April. The processions used to pass through

4450-804: The airport headquarters the Southern Air Command (India) of the Indian Air Force (IAF) and the Indian Coast Guard for their operations. IAF has an exclusive apron to handle all their operations. Thiruvananthapuram Airport also caters to the Rajiv Gandhi Academy for Aviation Technology , which carries out pilot training activities. The airport hosts Air India 's narrow body maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) unit consisting of twin hangars for servicing Boeing 737 -type aircraft, servicing mostly Air India Express aircraft. The airport

4539-535: The airport is approximately 3.7 km (2.3 mi) due west from the city centre and the Padmanabhaswamy Temple , 16 km (9.9 mi) from Kovalam beach, 13 km (8.1 mi) from Technopark and 21 km (13 mi) from the under-construction Vizhinjam International Seaport . It shares a visible proximity to Shankumugham Beach making it the nearest airport to a water body in India as it is, just about 0.6 miles (approx. 1 km) away from

SECTION 50

#1732868985366

4628-440: The airport itself instead of the city it serves, while another code is reserved which refers to the city itself which can be used to search for flights to any of its airports. For instance: Or using a code for the city in one of the major airports and then assigning another code to another airport: When different cities with the same name each have an airport, they need to be assigned different codes. Examples include: Sometimes,

4717-418: The airport's former name, such as Orlando International Airport 's MCO (for Mc C o y Air Force Base), or Chicago's O'Hare International Airport , which is coded ORD for its original name: Or char d Field. In rare cases, the code comes from the airport's unofficial name, such as Kahului Airport 's OGG (for local aviation pioneer Jimmy H ogg ). In large metropolitan areas, airport codes are often named after

4806-469: The airport. The hangar facility can accommodate 10 trainer aircraft. In November 2023, the AAI announced that the new terminal building will be built at an area covering 44,000 sq.m., an increase from the original plan of 2018, and that out of 18 acres, 16 acres will be acquired for extending the runway to accommodate larger aircraft and handle more flights by September 2024. The expansion process will also involve

4895-491: The code SHA, while the newer Shanghai–Pudong adopted PVG. The opposite was true for Berlin : the airport Berlin–Tegel used the code TXL, while its smaller counterpart Berlin–Schönefeld used SXF; the Berlin Brandenburg Airport has the airport code BER, which is also part of its branding. The airports of Hamburg (HAM) and Hannover (HAJ) are less than 100 nautical miles (190 km) apart and therefore share

4984-678: The end of 2016. On 2020, the Frankfurt and Paris routes were resumed. The airline absorbed the operations of sister carrier Mihin Lanka in October 2016, in a bid to create a single stronger national airline for Sri Lanka. Accordingly, SriLankan took over two of Mihin Lanka's aircraft and absorbed its route network, adding ten new destinations to SriLankan's route network. In October 2017, SriLankan launched direct daily non-stop flights to Melbourne , Australia, its first new long-haul route in over five years and

5073-919: The end. Examples include: A lot of minor airfields without scheduled passenger traffic have ICAO codes but not IATA codes, since the four letter codes allow more number of codes, and IATA codes are mainly used for passenger services such as tickets, and ICAO codes by pilots. In the US, such airfields use FAA codes instead of ICAO. There are airports with scheduled service for which there are ICAO codes but not IATA codes, such as Nkhotakota Airport/Tangole Airport in Malawi or Chōfu Airport in Tokyo, Japan. There are also several minor airports in Russia (e.g., Omsukchan Airport ) which lack IATA codes and instead use internal Russian codes for booking. Flights to these airports cannot be booked through

5162-476: The financial year 2022–2023, SriLankan Airlines achieved a break-even for the first time in over a decade and posted a net profit of $ 3 million. SriLankan Airlines won the 2024 IFSA Best Inflight Food or Beverage Innovation Award at the APEX (Airline Passenger Experience Association) and IFSA (International Flight Services Association) Global Expo October 2023. The key trends of Sri Lankan Airlines (mainline) are as at

5251-460: The financial year ending 31 March: The company's head office is at Airline Centre, Bandaranaike International Airport , Katunayake . The initial livery consisted of red stripes on a white fuselage. The tail was solid red and sported the corporate logo, a stylised vimana locally known as "Dandu Monara" (Flying Peacock Aircraft) of King Ravana of ancient "Lanka", Ravana , as per the famous "Ramayana" mythology. The five "tail feathers" represent

5340-754: The first squadron of the Royal Indian Air Force (Travancore) for protection of the state from aerial attacks. After Independence, the airstrip was used for domestic flights with the construction of a new domestic terminal, Terminal 1. International operations were initiated by Air India to cities in the Arabian Peninsula in the late 1970s using Boeing 707. By the early 80s, the then-Indian Airlines started service to Colombo, followed by service to Male. Later, Gulf Air, Sri Lankan Airlines (then Air Lanka) and Air Maldives (now Maldivian ) started operations. These were followed by Indian Airlines, which started

5429-557: The first three letters of the city in which it is located, for instance: The code may also be a combination of the letters in its name, such as: Sometimes the airport code reflects pronunciation, rather than spelling, namely: For many reasons, some airport codes do not fit the normal scheme described above. Some airports, for example, cross several municipalities or regions, and therefore, use codes derived from some of their letters, resulting in: Other airports—particularly those serving cities with multiple airports—have codes derived from

SECTION 60

#1732868985366

5518-506: The following airlines: SriLankan Airlines have interline agreements with the following airlines: As of March 2024 , SriLankan Airlines operates an all- Airbus fleet composed of the following aircraft: The airline received its first Airbus aircraft in 1992; the Airbus A320-200 began flying to destinations in the Maldives , Pakistan , and southern India. The Airbus A340-300

5607-474: The following format: Most large airports in Canada have codes that begin with the letter "Y", although not all "Y" codes are Canadian (for example, YUM for Yuma, Arizona , and YNT for Yantai , China), and not all Canadian airports start with the letter "Y" (for example, ZBF for Bathurst, New Brunswick ). Many Canadian airports have a code that starts with W, X or Z, but none of these are major airports. When

5696-593: The form of " YYZ ", a song by the rock band Rush , which utilizes the Morse code signal as a musical motif. Some airports have started using their IATA codes as brand names , such as Calgary International Airport (YYC) and Vancouver International Airport (YVR). Numerous New Zealand airports use codes that contain the letter Z, to distinguish them from similar airport names in other countries. Examples include HLZ for Hamilton , ZQN for Queenstown , and WSZ for Westport . Predominantly, airport codes are named after

5785-526: The four aircraft of Airbus A350-900 remained in the Airbus monthly order book and had yet to be cancelled or converted to A330-900 orders. In April 2021 SriLankan announced its plans to retire 6-7 aircraft from its fleet. To replace the retiring aircraft, SriLankan have planned A350 and A330neo aircraft. After government approvals, SriLankan requested proposals for a six-year dry lease for five narrow-body aircraft and wet lease wide-body aircraft in late 2023. As per

5874-482: The international air booking systems or have international luggage transferred there, and thus, they are booked instead through the airline or a domestic booking system. Several heliports in Greenland have 3-letter codes used internally which might be IATA codes for airports in faraway countries. There are several airports with scheduled service that have not been assigned ICAO codes that do have IATA codes, especially in

5963-565: The maintenance of the two Air Lanka-owned Tristars, while Air Canada maintained two leased Tristars. On 28 March 1980, Air Lanka signed a purchase agreement for two brand new Lockheed L1011-500 Tristars , the most advanced wide-body aircraft in the world at that time. The first Lockheed L1011-500 (4R-ULA) was accepted on 26 August 1982, at Palmdale , California . It was flown to Amsterdam as UL flight 566P. On 28 August, 4R-ULA "City of Colombo" left for its inaugural flight from Amsterdam to Colombo as UL566. It reached Colombo on 29 August. This

6052-459: The most ambitious expansion to date. The flights restore a regular direct air link between Australia and Sri Lanka after a hiatus of sixteen years. This route has proved particularly popular and has been responsible with increased numbers of Australian tourists holidaying in Sri Lanka. During the COVID-19 pandemic, SriLankan performed cargo and operating relief flights. On 1 February 2020 it operated

6141-612: The name of the airport itself, for instance: This is also true with some cities with a single airport (even if there is more than one airport in the metropolitan area of said city), such as BDL for Hartford, Connecticut 's B ra dl ey International Airport or Baltimore's BWI, for B altimore/ W ashington I nternational Airport ; however, the latter also serves Washington, D.C. , alongside Dulles International Airport (IAD, for I nternational A irport D ulles) and Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA, for D istrict of C olumbia A irport). The code also sometimes comes from

6230-468: The number of destinations in the Middle East to nine. Jeddah became the airline's 51st destination overall. In 2008, Emirates notified the Sri Lankan Government that it would not renew its management contract, which then expired on 31 March 2008. It claimed that the Sri Lankan Government was seeking greater control over the day-to-day management of the airline. Emirates sold its 43.63% stake in

6319-416: The one they are located in: Other airport codes are of obscure origin, and each has its own peculiarities: In Asia, codes that do not correspond with their city's names include Niigata 's KIJ , Nanchang 's KHN and Pyongyang 's FNJ . EuroAirport Basel Mulhouse Freiburg , which serves three countries, has three airport codes: BSL, MLH, EAP. Some cities have a name in their respective language which

6408-406: The partnership between the two airlines concluded on 31 March 2008. SriLankan subsequently launched FlySmiLes , which has since added a variety of new reward partners to its program. New membership tiers were added after the airline's enrollment to the one world alliance to accommodate Oneworld membership tiers, gaining better privileges for members when aboard all Oneworld airlines. There are

6497-600: The relocation of BrahMos Aerospace Trivandrum Limited (BATL) — a wholly owned subsidiary of BrahMos Aerospace — to a 186 acres (0.75 km) land in Nettukaltheri, near Neyyar Dam . The facility is currently engaged in producing the BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles for the Indian Armed Forces . Thiruvananthapuram International Airport is listed among the major airports of India. Its safety and security are handled by

6586-501: The same first and middle letters, indicating that this rule might be followed only in Germany. Many cities retain historical names in their airport codes, even after having undergone an official name/spelling/transliteration change: Some airport codes are based on previous names associated with a present airport, often with a military heritage. These include: Some airports are named for an administrative division or nearby city, rather than

6675-472: The same route even before the airport was established in 1932. The temple issues special passes to participants in the 'aarattu' to pass through the airfield's operational areas. The procession is escorted by priests, members of the erstwhile Travancore Royal family , caparisoned elephants , police band and armed and mounted police personnel besides large number of devotees and is a grand spectacle for onlookers. Thiruvananthapuram International Airport has

6764-517: The shares of the joint venture partner and thus Air Lanka Catering Services became the fully owned subsidiary of SriLankan Airlines Limited. Thereafter the Company changed its name to SriLankan Catering (Private) Limited in September 2000. SriLankan's first frequent-flyer programme was called Serendib Miles and was abandoned in early 2000. It then became a partner of Emirates' Skywards frequent-flyer program. However, this agreement ceased to exist when

6853-470: The six airports. The Adani Group , GMR Group and Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation (KSIDC) participated in the bidding process that was won by the Adani Group. Since some public interest litigations were filed concerning the bidding process for the airport, the Union Cabinet gave its approval for awarding the airport to Adani subject to the outcome of Writ Petition. Accordingly, AAI signed

6942-497: The station code of Malton, Mississauga , where it is located). YUL is used for Montréal–Trudeau (UL was the ID code for the beacon in the city of Kirkland , now the location of Montréal–Trudeau). While these codes make it difficult for the public to associate them with a particular Canadian city, some codes have become popular in usage despite their cryptic nature, particularly at the largest airports. Toronto's code has entered pop culture in

7031-504: The two-letter code of the radio beacons that were the closest to the actual airport, such as YQX in Gander or YXS in Prince George . Four of the ten provincial capital airports in Canada have ended up with codes beginning with YY, including: Canada's largest airport is YYZ for Toronto Pearson (as YTZ was already allocated to Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport , the airport was given

7120-529: The use of two letters allowed only a few hundred combinations; a three-letter system of airport codes was implemented. This system allowed for 17,576 permutations, assuming all letters can be used in conjunction with each other. Since the U.S. Navy reserved "N" codes, and to prevent confusion with Federal Communications Commission broadcast call signs , which begin with "W" or "K", the airports of certain U.S. cities whose name begins with one of these letters had to adopt "irregular" airport codes: This practice

7209-602: Was announced as Oneworld 's latest member-elect, on the sidelines of the IATA World Air Transport Summit in Beijing. Cathay Pacific served as SriLankan Airlines' sponsor through its alliance implementation program. Membership implementation lasted approximately 18 months. SriLankan Airlines joined the airline alliance on 1 May 2014 as the first carrier from the Indian subcontinent. SriLankan Airlines codeshares with

7298-483: Was announced that SriLankan Airlines had won government approval to acquire four Airbus A350-900 and seven A330-300 aircraft, with deliveries of the A330-300 starting from October 2014. Deliveries for the ordered A350-900s are set to commence in 2019. A further three Airbus A350-900s were leased, with deliveries of these aircraft starting in 2017. SriLankan retired its last Airbus A340-300 on 7 January 2016, replaced by

7387-636: Was delivered in 1994. The airline was the first in Asia to use the A340. The Airbus A330-200 aircraft were delivered later. In 2012, SriLankan Airlines aimed to boost its fleet to 35 aircraft over the next five years and had talks with both Airbus and Boeing regarding a deal. SriLankan's former CEO Kapila Chandrasena stated that the carrier wanted to add either Airbus A330-300 , Boeing 787-8 or Boeing 777-300ER aircraft to its fleet to replace its Airbus A340-300s, with deliveries beginning in 2013–2014. In April 2013, it

7476-598: Was established in 1932 as part of the Royal Flying Club under the initiative of Lt. Col. Raja Goda Varman , husband of Karthika Thirunal Lakshmi Bayi , the Rani of Attingal and Travancore Kingdom . Raja Goda Varman, a trained pilot, felt the need for an airport to accommodate Travancore in the aviation map of India and requested the Travancore Durbar to initiate the process of establishing an aerodrome. A detailed report

7565-524: Was followed by the second Lockheed L1011-500 , 4R-ULB, "City of Jayawardanapura". On 8 June 1984 the airline received its first Boeing 747-200B "King Vijaya" and the second joined later. The aircraft were used on flights to Europe and a few flights to southeast Asia. However they were retired in 1987. In 1994, Air Lanka became the Asian Launch Customer of the Airbus A340-300 . Air Lanka, which

7654-441: Was given permission to carry out the crucial ‘C’ checks of their Boeing 737-800 fleet. In addition to civil operations, Thiruvananthapuram Airport also caters to IAF and Coast Guard for their strategical operations and Airforce NCC Cadets' Trg. IAF have an exclusive apron to handle all their operations. Thiruvananthapuram Airport also caters for Rajiv Gandhi Academy for Aviation Technology . The academy has its own hangar facility at

7743-480: Was made and presented to the King by Consort Prince in this regard. It may be mentioned that the King was the brother of Lt. Col. Raja's wife, and the colonel's children were the heirs to the throne. In 1935, on the royal patronage of Maharaja Chithira Thirunal , Tata Airlines made its maiden flight to the airport using DH.83 Fox Moth aircraft under command of India's first pilot Nevill Vintcent carrying Jamshed Navoroji,

7832-564: Was re-branded and the current livery was introduced. In 2008, the government of Sri Lanka acquired all the shares of the airline from Emirates. After ending the Emirates partnership, it retained its re-branded name and logo. SriLankan Airlines operates over 560 flights per week across Asia. SriLankan Airlines joined Oneworld airline alliance on 1 May 2014. In 1979, after the removal of airline manager Nimesh Fernando, Sri Lanka's president Jayawardene initially did not interfere after entrusting

7921-518: Was state-owned, was partially privatized in 1998, with investment by Dubai -based Emirates Group , when Emirates and the Sri Lankan government signed an agreement for a ten-year strategic partnership. This agreement included exclusive rights for all aircraft ground handling and airline catering at Colombo-Bandaranaike airport for ten years. Emirates bought a 40% stake worth US$ 70 million (which it later increased to 43.6%) in Air Lanka and sought to refurbish

#365634