Upali Air is one of the defunct airlines of Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...

. It was the island's first domestic airline.

Upali Air was founded at the end of the 1960s by Sri Lankan entrepreneur Upali Wijewardene

Upali Wijewardene

Philip Upali Wijewardene was a well-known businessman in Sri Lanka who established the Upali Group. At the time of his death, Wijewardene had branched in to newspapers, confectionery and even started a domestic air line named Upali Air...

. 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

Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...

.

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 February 1983, when he was only 43 years old. The beginning of the 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, like Ratmalana airport, into military bases for the Sri Lankan Air Force

Sri Lankan Air Force

The Sri Lanka Air Force is the air arm and the youngest of the Sri Lanka Armed Forces. It was founded in 1951 as the Royal Ceylon Air Force with the assistance of the Royal Air Force . The SLAF played a major role throughout the Sri Lankan Civil War...

, made Upali Air’s operation no longer viable.

Code data

• IATA
  International Air Transport Association
  The International Air Transport Association is an international industry trade group of airlines headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, where the International Civil Aviation Organization is also headquartered. The executive offices are at the Geneva Airport in SwitzerlandIATA's mission is to...
  
   Code: -
• ICAO Code: -
• Callsign: UPALI

Fleet

• 1 De Havilland Twin Otter

• 1 Cessna U206G

• 1 Cessna 152 II

• 1 Bell 206 L Helicopter