Asian Aviation Centre (Pvt) Ltd. (AAC), formerly CDE Aviation, was registered as a private limited liability company in 1985, and its main business was operating a flying training school. In 1990, it commenced a course of studies to train students to sit for the examination conducted by the Director General of Civil Aviation, Sri Lanka, for the issue of licences in aircraft maintenance without type rating (LWTR).
Due to the increased demand for higher studies, AAC considered the possibility of offering undergraduate courses in Aeronautical Engineering and embarked on a course development program to offer two other courses, an HND and a BSc through an affiliation with Kingston University London from 1997. A BEng (Hons) degree in Aerospace, Mechanical and Automotive Engineering, a BSc degree in Computing, a Foundation Degree in Aircraft Engineering, and Aviation Studies were subsequently added to the portfolio.
In 1998, AAC signed an agreement with the Department of Further Education, Employment, Science and Technology of the Government of South Australia, under which, from 1999, AAC offered the Certificate (Level 4) in Aviation Engineering – Aircraft Maintenance Engineer (Mechanical Maintenance) course of the Regency Institute of TAFE South Australia, in Sri Lanka. In 2005, AAC entered into an agreement with Kangan Batman Institute of TAFE (KBIT) in Melbourne — the only organization with CASA CAR30 approval for Aircraft Maintenance Training to deliver the Certificate (Level IV) in Aviation Engineering Aircraft Maintenance Engineer (Mechanical Maintenance) course at AAC. This new agreement with KBIT provides students with an option to transfer to the Advanced Diploma of Engineering (Aerospace) program of KBIT.
In 2017, AAC partnered with Aviation Australia to recruit Sri Lankan students for a Diploma in Aircraft Maintenance Engineering, with initial training in Sri Lanka before progressing to Brisbane. In 2018, AAC affiliated with the University of South Wales, UK, offering students the opportunity to join the BSc (Hons) in Aircraft Maintenance Engineering Top-up degree programme. By 2021, AAC was approved by the Civil Aviation Authority of Sri Lanka as an IS-145 Continuing Airworthiness Management Organization (CAMO), and in 2022, as an IS-145 Aircraft Maintenance Organization (AMO). In 2023, AAC received approval as an IS-147 Maintenance Training Organization (MTO) and also affiliated with the University of the Highlands and Islands, Scotland, offering AME students direct entry into the third year of the BSc (Hons) in Aircraft Maintenance Engineering & Management degree.
The Flight Academy of AAC offers flying training for the Private Pilot Licence (PPL), Commercial Pilot Licence with Instrument Rating (CPL/IR), Multi-Engine Rating, and the Assistant Flight Instructor Rating. Currently, AAC has a fleet of Cessna 152 training aircraft. The Flight Academy has produced over 500 pilots at various levels, including students from Sri Lanka and overseas India, Maldives, Iran, and Nepal.
What started as an organization to train pilots and a few technicians in aircraft maintenance has now grown into an establishment offering undergraduate courses in several disciplines. The Asian Aviation Centre is committed to ensuring the continued growth of its training arms as a fully-fledged teaching establishment dedicated to aviation-related training in Sri Lanka.
In 1994, the company launched a domestic scheduled airline under the banner of Lion Air (Pvt) Ltd. This sister company’s operations greatly enhanced AAC’s appeal in the marketplace. AAC’s operations are based at the largest hangar complex at Colombo Airport, Ratmalana, and its marketing office is located in Bambalapitiya, Colombo 04.
