KAT was built among a plantation of 40000 coconut trees and lies some 20 plus miles north of the capital city Colombo and less than a handful of miles east of Negombo. The village just outside the camp gates at that time was Kurana.

The airfield was used via 3 organisations, primarily it was a Royal Air Force Base, although the Royal Ceylon Air Force was formed in the late forties they expanded their air force by establishing their headquarters at KAT. The major civilian airlines used KAT as their northern mid Indian Ocean base as a refueling stopover where crews were 'slipped', passengers were able to take a break and the aircraft could be replenished for the next leg of their journey.