- Lionair
Lionair is an
airline based inColombo ,Sri Lanka . It is a privately owned charter operator. Its main base isRatmalana Airport ,Colombo .Flight International 5-11 April 2005]Code data
*ICAO Code: LEO
*Callsign: Sri-Lion [ [http://www.airlinecodes.co.uk/ Airline Codes (November 2006)] ]History
The airline was established in October
1993 and started operations on24 October 1994 . Initially it was owned by Lionvert Inc USA (51%), aUnited States -based investors group and by Sri Lankan investors (49%). Lionvert sold its stake in late1997 . Lionair suspended domestic services when anAntonov An-24 aircraft went missing shortly after take off fromJaffna in1998 , but resumed services in October2002 .Services
*Lionair had operated services between Colombo and Jaffna since October 1996, until the suspension of services in 1998. They had hoped to resume services in November 1998. [http://www.tamilnet.com/art.html?artid=2253&catid=13 TamilNet] 30 October 1998]
*In
2005 Lionair applied to the Civil Aviation Authority of Sri Lanka to operate services to the following destinations:Athens ,Chennai , Kochi,Denpasar ,Dhaka ,Dubai ,Guanchou ,Jakarta ,Kuala Lumpur ,Kuwait ,London ,Malé ,Melbourne ,Mumbai ,Rome ,Singapore ,Sydney ,Tiruchirapalli ,Thiruvananthapuram andZürich , usingAvro 748 andAirbus A320 aircraft. [ [http://www.caa.lk/press110405.htm Civil Aviation Authority of Sri Lanka] 11 April 2005]*Recently
Connexus Air has joined with Lionair to assist in the lease and setup of domestic operations using aBAe Jetstream 41 aircraft. It is planned to start the first service by November 2006. [ [http://connexusair.com/ Connexus Air] retrieved 23 November 2006]Incidents and accidents
*
29 September 1998 - Lionair Flight LN 602, operated by an Antonov An-24RV, fell into the sea off the north-western coast of Sri Lanka under mysterious circumstances. The aircraft departed Jaffna-Palaly Air Force Base on a flight to Colombo and disappeared from radar screens just after the pilot had reported depressurization. Initial reports indicated that the plane had been shot down byLiberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam rebels. All 7 crew and 48 passengers were killed. [http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19980929-0 Aviation Safety Network] retrieved 23 November 2006]Fleet
As of August
2006 the Lionair fleet includes [Flight International , 3-9 October 2006] :*1
Antonov An-24 The aircraft is believed to be stored. The Antonov An-24 that went missing in 1998 was on lease from
Gomelavia .External links
* [http://www.uthr.org/bulletins/bul19.htm University Teachers for Human Rights (Jaffna) - Report on Flight 602 incident]
References
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