Why HMS Hermes remained near Ceylon

Why was HMS Hermes still near Ceylon instead of running west?

Servicing and readiness needs kept her there, though the resulting exposure reflected broader coordination failures.

Maintenance and servicing were the immediate reasons Hermes was not already withdrawing west. A carrier could not simply sail without completing the work needed to make its machinery, aircraft, and crew ready for sea. The wider failure resembled Malaya: effective systems existed, but command and coordination did not bring the available pieces together in time. The loss joined a local readiness problem to the failure to move exposed ships coherently once the Japanese threat was known.