David Peiris Aviation (Pvt) Ltd, trading as DP Aviation, has secured an air operator's certificate (AOC) from the Civil Aviation Authority of Sri Lanka, allowing it to operate scheduled passenger flights. The authority confirmed the certificate's issuance on its website on June 16.

The company has been trading for some time, using a Cessna (single turboprop) C208B Grand Caravan, 4R-DPA (msn 208B5455) that, until now, was operated by FitsAir (8D, Colombo International) under its AOC. To date, DP Aviation has offered charter flights and a limited scheduled service between Jaffna and Colombo Ratmalana.

On June 2, the airline conducted a test flight between Colombo and Jafna as a part of its AOC certification drive. According to local media reports, DP Aviation intends to fly the sector three times weekly and is also looking at flying via Colombo International.

“Our goal is to develop strong domestic flight operations across the country," a spokesperson told Colombo's Daily News.

DP Aviation becomes Sri Lanka's fourth scheduled passenger operator, alongside SriLankan Airlines, FitsAir, and Cinnamon Air.