The airline discontinued flights to Europe in early 1978 and finally ceased all local services on 31 August 1979, when it was replaced by Air Lanka.

On 10 December 1947, with Captain Peter Fernando at the controls and a complement of 16 passengers, Sita Devi took off from Ratmalana runway soon after 8 am, inaugurating the Air Ceylon commercial flights, and headed for Palaly.

Air Ceylon discontinued all long-haul fights and gave up its partnership with ANA in September 1953 after BOAC had introduced the de Havilland Comet between London and Colombo.

[12][13] In 1972, Union de Transports Aériens (UTA) became Air Ceylon's partner, selling one Douglas DC-8 to the airline and giving technical support.

During that period, Air Ceylon offered multiple-stopover flights, which were leaving Colombo on three routes - to Europe, to Australia, and a regional one to India.

[15][16] Due to more modern aircraft with a longer range, fewer stops were required on the long-distance routes, reducing travel time.