Media Prima

Two decades ago, intent on further propelling the economic and social evolution that was transforming his country, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum started an airline. It was an era when airline start-ups were rare, and successes still rarer. Yet he handed his team a cheque for $10 million and told them to go away and create a carrier for Dubai.

Monara Rising, the history of civil aviation in Sri Lanka, published to coincide with the 25th anniversary of SriLankan, is the first book tracing the history of aviation in Sri Lanka. Utilising archival materials and anecdotal evidence from those who have been part of this extraordinary era, the title traces a story of triumph over adversity. From the early struggles of Air Ceylon to 2005, when the SriLankan group was the most profitable corporation on the island, it is a story filled with colour.

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Two decades ago, intent on further propelling the economic and social evolution that was transforming his country, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum started an airline. It was an era when airline start-ups were rare, and successes still rarer. Yet he handed his team a cheque for $10 million and told them to go away and create a carrier for Dubai.

In 1937 the inauguration of an Imperial Airways C-Class flying boat service brought Dubai into the aviation era. From the foundations of 1937 to the modernity of 2007, the 70th anniversary of civil aviation in Dubai is a milestone captured in a book for the first time. With colorful insight from many who have contributed to the vision of the Maktoum family, and archival material from around the world, Flight into the future builds into a blueprint of how the emirate has emerged as one of the world’s aviation hubs.

Fly Buy Dubai (The Remarkable 25 Year Journey of Dubai Duty Free. 25 Years 1983-2008.) In 1945 Rineanna Airport, some 135 miles from Dublin, later known as Shannon International, began receiving scheduled aircraft from TWA and PanAm. The number of international carriers using Shannon rose sharply over succeeding years. The door was now open for the entrepreneurial spirit of one man to alter the course of the aviation industry.