The First Ceylonese Air Pilot Mr. Zubay Caffoor

 Mr. Zubay Caffoor, who in 1931 obtained the Air Pilots Certificate from the Air Ministry England . Thus he played a part in the genesis of the Air Mail Services in Ceylon - Researched by Dr Nihal D merasekera

On April 22, 1931, Lankan aviation reached an important milestone when an aeroplane flying in from another country landed on Ceylon soil for the first time. Arriving from Mandapam in South India, the de Havilland D.H.80 Puss Moth single-engine, high-wing monoplane was piloted by Nevill Vincent. Of South African origin and an enthusiastic promoter of Indian civil aviation, Vincent was a close friend and business associate of the legendary J.R.D. Tata, who founded the Tata Sons airline which later became Air India. Accompanying Vincent in the Puss Moth, which landed on the Colombo Racecourse, was Zubay Caffoor, who had earlier laid claim to being the first Ceylonese to obtain a pilot's license.

Mr. Vintcent flew back to Bombay on the 6th May, 1931 carrying with him a special edition of the "Times of Ceylon" marked First Airmail Edition. Only 25 newspapers were thought to have been carried. He left Colombo at 6.00am, after refueling and breakfast at Bangalore he reached Bombay at 5.00 pm a journey of eleven hours. This was an incredible feat as the usual sea mail route took 4 days to Bombay. The idea of an airmail service to Ceylon received a boost.

In April, 1932, Tata Airways commissioned a survey flight and this was carried out by Mr Vintcent. A few letters were carried on this flight and only 4 are known to collectors. The cover is endorsed "Preliminary Investigation Flight" in red and carries Mr. Vintcent's signature and designation "By: Director Civil Aviation                 Government of India". It is postmarked 8th April, 1932.

One major obstacle to the extension of the Karachi to Madras Service to Colombo was the lack of an aerodrome. Discussions took place over a suitable site and in 1934 the State Council passed a resolution to construct an aerodrome on the site at Ratmalana. This site consisted of two hundred and forty acres of land planted with rubber and coconut which was acquired, cleared and leveled.

In 1936 Tata arranged for a special flight from Madras to Colombo to carry the Christmas mail. Connection with the Imperial Airways flight to and from London enabled Christmas mail from the UK to reach Ceylon. Two special flights in each direction were made between Madras, Trichinopoly, and Colombo.

De Havilland Puss Moth - the type of plane used by Zubay Caffoor

Mails left the UK on December 16th via Imperial Airways to connect with the special flight leaving Madras on the 23rd December, 1936.

A delay occurred in the transit of the English mail and the special flight left Madras carrying only the Indian mail. The return flight left Colombo at 8.00 am on the 24th December and by the time it reached Madras the UK mail had arrived. A second special flight took off landing in Colombo in the evening of 24th December. The second return flight to Madras carried no mail. The return mail reached England on the 2nd January.