| Bandaranaike International Airport බණ්ඩාරනායක ජාත්යන්තර ගුවන්තොටුපොල பண்டாரநயாக்க சர்வதேச விமான நிலையம் |
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| IATA: CMB – ICAO: VCBI
CMB
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| Summary | |||
| Airport type | Military/Public | ||
| Operator | Airport and Aviation Services (Sri Lanka) Ltd | ||
| Serves | Colombo | ||
| Location | Katunayake, Sri Lanka | ||
| Hub for | |||
| Elevation AMSL | 26 ft / 8 m | ||
| Website | |||
| Runways | |||
| Direction | Length | Surface | |
| ft | m | ||
| 04/22 | 10,991 | 3,350 | Asphalt |
Bandaranaike International Airport (also known as Katunayake International Airport and Colombo International Airport) (IATA: CMB, ICAO: VCBI) is Sri Lanka's only international airport at the moment. Mattala International Airport, when it gets built will be the second International Airport of Sri Lanka. It is located in Katunayake, 35 km (22 mi) north of Colombo. It is administered by Airport and Aviation Services (Sri Lanka) Ltd. It is the hub of SriLankan Airlines, the national carrier of Sri Lanka, and Mihin Lanka, the budget airline of Sri Lanka.
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The airport began as a Royal Air Force airfield in 1944 during the Second World War, RAF Station Negombo. In 1957, when SWRD Bandaranaike removed all the British Military airfields from Ceylon (Sri Lanka), the airfield was handed over to the Royal Ceylon Air Force (RCyAF) and renamed Katunayake. Part of it still remains an Air Force airfield.
In 1964 Anil Moonesinghe, the Cabinet Minister of Communications, started the building of a new international airport to replace Ratmalana, with Canadian aid. The airport was completed in 1967, and Air Ceylon, the national carrier, began international operations from it using a Hawker Siddeley Trident and a leased British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) British Aircraft Corporation (BAC) VC-10. The airport was also a Trans World Airlines (TWA) hub for a short time.
It was named Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA), after former Prime Minister SWRD Bandaranaike, in 1970. It was renamed Katunayake International Airport in 1977, but was changed back to Bandaranaike International Airport in 1995.
In the 1990's the position of the airport's runway (04/22) was shifted northward and the old runway was used as a taxiway for departing and arriving aircraft.
Airport expansion projects have recently been undertaken at the airport under the Stage 1, Phase II Expansion Project. A pier with eight aero-bridges opened in November 2005. A new terminal with an additional eight gates are proposed to be built under Stage II of the Phase II Expansion Project. Construction of the new Stage II, Phase II Expansion Project is expected to commence in 2011 and is expected to be completed in 2012.[1]
On 7 May 2007 the Sri Lankan Government decided to shift some military aviation operations out of the space adjoining the airport to SLAF Hingurakgoda, thus paving the way for more civilian operations.
As part of the airport development program, a passenger train service was launched between the Airport and Colombo Secretariat Station, in June 2010.also unveiled plans to extend the Colombo-Katunayake airport express train to Ratmalana [1]
The airport is used by Emirates Airlines as an alternative emergency airport for its Airbus A380 aircraft.[1]
Bandaranaike International Airport is equipped with 16 double jetway gates and a new terminal is underway for airlines introducing the Airbus A380. Emirates Airlines will begin using the Airbus A380-800 for Dubai-Colombo route from 2012.
The airport is undergoing resurfacing of its runway. It has been announced, as of December 3, 2009, that its current runway will be extended to 3,350 metres. Future projects may include a second runway to support the Airbus A380, a further eight passenger gates, a domestic terminal, a five storey car-park, and a five star hotel neighbouring the airport. New approach channels into the airport will be created in 2012.[2]
The Bandaranaike international airport has a single runway (04/22) with asphalt surface. The take-off and landing distances of the runway are 3,441m and 3,350m respectively. The overall length of the runway is 91m. There is a plan to construct a second runway to support the Airbus A380. The construction is expected to begin in 2012.
The arrival and departure areas in the passenger terminal are located close to each other, easing the movement of passengers between terminals. There are 50 check-in desks, 12 gates, 575 short-term parking spaces, three airport hotels, restaurants, cafeterias, bars, a VIP lounge, duty-free shop and disabled access / facilities. In 2009, a lounge named Silk Route was opened at the terminal. It provides facilities such as food, newspapers and the internet.
The cargo village terminal I occupies an area of 2,787m², and includes freight forwarders, warehouses, airline offices, banks, courier service, gem and diamond exchange and customs. The 1,858m² cargo village terminal II has facilities for refrigerated and frozen cargo, airmail sorting centre and offshore avionics workshop.The airport has been a popular cargo port for a long time and it is not unusual to see a few cargo aircraft at the airport at any given time. The cargo airlines that have served Colombo in the past include Emirates and Lufthansa. Currently MidEx Airlines is the most active freight carrier at the airport, operating daily flights from Al Ain, followed closely by Expo Aviation. "Facilitating international trade, the BIA provides cargo handling services with a capacity of 250,000 MT and a dedicated, well-trained team. With the expansion that is underway, the air cargo terminal will undoubtedly play a key role in supporting the needs and demands of industry."
| Airlines | Destinations |
|---|---|
| Aeroflot | Seasonal: Moscow-Sheremetyevo |
| Aerosvit Airlines | Kiev-Boryspil |
| Air Arabia | Sharjah |
| Air India | Chennai |
| Air India Express | Chennai |
| AirAsia | Kuala Lumpur |
| Arkefly | Amsterdam [ends 19 April; resumes 26 June] |
| Cathay Pacific | Bangkok-Suvarnabhumi, Hong Kong, Singapore |
| China Eastern Airlines | Kunming, Malé |
| Condor Flugdienst | Seasonal: Frankfurt |
| Edelweiss Air | Zürich |
| Emirates | Dubai, Malé, Singapore |
| Enter Air | Seasonal: Warsaw |
| Etihad Airways | Abu Dhabi |
| Finnair | Seasonal: Helsinki |
| Flydubai | Dubai |
| Gulf Air | Bahrain |
| Jet Airways | Chennai, Delhi, Mumbai |
| Kingfisher Airlines | Chennai, Tiruchirapalli |
| Kuwait Airways | Kuwait |
| Malaysia Airlines | Kuala Lumpur |
| Mihin Lanka | Dhaka, Dubai, Gaya, Jakarta-Soekarno–Hatta, Kuwait, Sharjah, Tiruchirapalli, Varanasi |
| Novair | Seasonal: Copenhagen, Gothenburg-Landvetter, Stockholm-Arlanda |
| Oman Air | Malé, Muscat |
| Pakistan International Airlines | Karachi |
| Qatar Airways | Doha |
| Royal Jordanian | Amman-Queen Alia |
| Saudi Arabian Airlines | Dammam, Jeddah, Riyadh |
| Singapore Airlines | Singapore |
| Spicejet | Chennai |
| SriLankan Airlines | Abu Dhabi, Bahrain, Bangkok-Suvarnabhumi, Beijing-Capital, Bangalore, Chennai, Dammam, Delhi, Doha, Dubai, Frankfurt, Guangzhou, Hong Kong, Jeddah, Karachi, Kochi, Kuala Lumpur, Kuwait, London-Heathrow, Malé, Milan-Malpensa, Moscow-Domodedevo, Mumbai, Muscat, Paris-Charles de Gaulle, Riyadh, Rome-Fiumicino, Shanghai-Pudong, Singapore, Thiruvananthapuram, Tiruchirapalli, Tokyo-Narita, Zürich |
| SriLankan Airlines operated by SriLankan Air Taxi | Bentota River, Buttala, Castlereagh, Dikwella, Koggala, Nuwara Eliya, Hambantota Charter: Ampara, Kandy, Tissamaharama |
| Thai AirAsia | Bangkok-Suvarnabhumi [begins 1 March] [7] |
| Thai Airways International | Bangkok-Suvarnabhumi |
| Thomas Cook Airlines Scandinavia | Seasonal: Billund [begins 27 November 2012] |
Note 1: ^ Although some of these flights make an intermediate stop en route to their listed destination, they do not have rights to carry traffic solely between Colombo and the intermediate city.
| Airlines | Destinations |
|---|---|
| China Airlines | Luxembourg, Taipei |
| Etihad Crystal Cargo | Abu Dhabi, Chennai |
| Expoair Cargo | Karachi, Kozhikode, Lahore, Malé, Visakhapatnam |
| Midex Airlines | Al Ain |
| Qatar Airways Cargo | Doha, Lahore, Thiruvananthapuram |
| SriLankan Airlines Cargo operated by Lankan Cargo |
Bangalore, Chennai |
| SriLankan Airlines Cargo operated by Expoair Cargo |
Thiruvananthapuram |
Travel between the airport and Colombo city center is available as follows:
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In 1956 with the departure of the RAF from RAF Negombo, the Royal Ceylon Air Force took over and renamed the station RCyAF Katunayake. With the construction of the Bandaranaike International Airport, major portion of the air base was taken over. However the Sri Lanka Air Force remained and expanded its air base adjoining the International Airport. At present it is the largest SLAF station in the country and is the base for several flying squadrons as well as ground units. The Air Force Hospital is also based at SLAF Katunayake.
In March 2001, on the 50th anniversary of the Sri Lanka Air Force, the base was presented with the President’s Colours.
