Airport guide

Bandaranaike International AirportIATA code CMB

Bandaranaike International Airport (CMB/VCBI) is the primary air passenger gateway serving Colombo, Sri Lanka in Asia. The airfield connects travelers with essential regional transit routes and operating carrier options.

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Serves: Colombo, Sri Lanka
Codes: CMB · VCBI; IATA · ICAO
Time zone: Asia/Colombo
Region: Asia

Airport record, updated 4 Sept 2026OurAirports, 5 Oct 2026Wikidata, 5 Oct 2026Travelpayouts fares, 5 Oct 2026NASA POWER climate, 2016–2025Terminals and transport checked 5 Oct 2026Where this comes from

Bandaranaike International Airport (CMB/VCBI) is the primary air passenger gateway serving Colombo, Sri Lanka in Asia. Operating on Asia/Colombo local time at coordinates 7.170°, 79.890°, the airfield functions as an active commercial transit hub for scheduled regional and international flights. Travelers navigating Bandaranaike International Airport (CMB) are encouraged to confirm terminal layouts, ground transport connections into Colombo, and flight schedules with their operating carrier prior to travel.

Bandaranaike International Airport details

Airport record · 4 Sept 2026

IATA code: CMB
ICAO code: VCBI
City: Colombo
Country: Sri Lanka
Region: Asia
Time zone: Asia/Colombo
Coordinates: 7.181°, 79.884°; From OurAirports
Official website: airport.lk (opens in a new tab); From Wikidata

Codes, region and time zone come from the Originfacts airport record (last updated 4 Sept 2026). Fields marked otherwise come from the dataset named on them. None are verified by hand against Bandaranaike International Airport’s own pages.

CMB airport facts

OurAirports · Wikidata

Size class: Large airport; From OurAirports (5 Oct 2026); OurAirports’ own classification
Elevation: 9 m (30 ft); From OurAirports (5 Oct 2026)
Opened: 1944; Per Wikidata (opens in a new tab) (retrieved 5 Oct 2026) — date of official opening
Operator: Sri Lanka Air Force; Per Wikidata (opens in a new tab) (retrieved 5 Oct 2026)
Nearest airport with scheduled flights: Colombo Ratmalana International Airport RML · 40 km; OurAirports scheduled-service flag; straight-line distance calculated

Runways at CMB

OurAirports · 5 Oct 2026

Source: OurAirports (opens in a new tab) runways data (public domain), retrieved 5 Oct 2026. Not an aeronautical source — not for navigation.

One open runway, lit. The runway 04/22: 3,350 m, asphalt.

Runways at CMB: length, width, surface and lighting
Runway	Length	Width	Surface	Lighting
04/22	3,350 m10,991 ft	45 m	asphalt	Lit

Airlines and destinations from CMB

Travelpayouts · 5 Oct 2026

Source: Travelpayouts fare data, 5 Oct 2026 — destinations where travellers found a nonstop fare from CMB in the days before that date. Not a complete or live schedule.

Nonstop fares from CMB to 37 destinations in 21 countries, on 19 airlines.

Airlines named on the fares

ULSriLankan Airlines17 destinations
C7Cinnamon Air2 destinations
6EIndiGo2 destinations
SUAeroflot1 destination
G9Air Arabia1 destination
3LAir Arabia Abu Dhabi1 destination
CAAir China1 destination
HMAir Seychelles1 destination
ODBatik Air Malaysia1 destination
CXCathay Pacific1 destination
MUChina Eastern1 destination
OQChongqing Airlines1 destination
FZFlydubai1 destination
J9Jazeera Airways1 destination
JQJetstar1 destination
S7S7 Airlines1 destination
FDThai AirAsia1 destination
TKTurkish Airlines1 destination
VJVietjet1 destination

The airline on a fare can be the seller of a codeshare flown by a partner. Linked names are matched to Originfacts airline pages by code and name; others are shown as the fare data names them.

Destinations by country

India (9): Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kochi, Madurai, Mumbai, New Delhi, Thiruvananthapuram, Tiruchirappalli
China (4): Chengdu, Chongqing, Guangzhou, Shanghai
United Arab Emirates (3): Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah
Australia (2): Melbourne, Sydney
Russia (2): Moscow, Novosibirsk
Sri Lanka (2): Batticaloa, Trincomalee
France (1): Paris
Hong Kong (1): Hong Kong
Indonesia (1): Jakarta
Japan (1): Tokyo
Kuwait (1): Kuwait City
Malaysia (1): Kuala Lumpur
Maldives (1): Gan Island
Nepal (1): Kathmandu
Qatar (1): Doha
Seychelles (1): Mahe
Singapore (1): Singapore
Thailand (1): Bangkok
Turkiye (1): Istanbul
United Kingdom (1): London
Vietnam (1): Ho Chi Minh City

Check schedules with the airline or Bandaranaike International Airport before you book.

Routes from CMB

No route records yet

Originfacts does not track any routes from CMB yet, so no route records are listed here. Destinations with nonstop fares are listed under Airlines and destinations above. Check current schedules with the airlines or the airport’s own site.

Airlines with a hub at CMB

Wikidata · 5 Oct 2026

Per Wikidata (opens in a new tab) (retrieved 5 Oct 2026): airlines whose “airline hub” property names CMB, with no end date and not recorded as dissolved. Community-edited; hubs change.

Where CMB is

Calculated

28 km north

Bandaranaike International Airport lies 28 km north of Colombo city centre in a straight line. Road distance is longer; transport options are not yet verified (see terminals and transport below).

Calculated from the airport coordinates (OurAirports) and the Wikidata (opens in a new tab) city-centre point.

Terminals, transport and parking at CMB

Checked 5 Oct 2026

Terminals

Bandaranaike International Airport, the main of Sri Lanka's five international airports, has three passenger terminals. Terminal 1, opened in 1967, is the largest and oldest; all arrivals and departures take place through its gates, which are reached from a single passenger concourse.^[1]

After the security checks, gates 6 to 14 are on the upper floor and the remaining gates on the lower floor. Terminal 3, opened in November 2012, serves domestic flights.^[1]

The delayed Terminal 2

Terminal 2 was scheduled to begin construction in April 2017 and be completed in 2020, with eight gates (two able to take the Airbus A380), five floors, a car park and a hotel. Plans were set back by the COVID-19 pandemic and the economic crisis; in May 2025 the airport's chairman told the Daily Mirror that bids had been invited from two Japanese companies.^[1]

Getting to and from Colombo

Since June 2025 the Route 187 luxury air-conditioned bus has run between the airport and Colombo Fort on the Colombo–Katunayake Expressway, avoiding city traffic. It boards at the Departure Terminal Outer Porch and runs 24 hours a day.^[2]

Lounges

Terminal 1 has two main passenger lounges, Serendib and Palm Spirit.^[1]

In August 2022 the airport opened the Golden Route arrival lounge for premium passengers, who can use it to complete immigration, emigration and customs checks without queuing.^[3]

Checked against Bandaranaike International Airport’s and the transport operators’ own pages on 5 Oct 2026. Fares, timetables and facilities change; confirm on the linked source before you travel.

Climate at CMB, month by month

NASA POWER · 2016–2025

Source: NASA POWER (opens in a new tab) daily values for 2016–2025 at 7.17°, 79.89° (MERRA-2 reanalysis grid, about 50 km cells), averaged by Originfacts. Modelled, not airport weather-station readings.

Warmest: March (average high 31°C). Coolest: August (28°C high, 25°C low). Wettest: November (377 mm); driest: February (70 mm).

Average daily high and low temperature and average monthly precipitation at CMB, 2016–2025
Month	High	Low	Rain
Jan	29°C	23°C	94 mm
Feb	30°C	23°C	70 mm
Mar	31°C	25°C	125 mm
Apr	31°C	26°C	220 mm
May	29°C	26°C	323 mm
Jun	29°C	26°C	143 mm
Jul	28°C	25°C	100 mm
Aug	28°C	25°C	130 mm
Sep	28°C	25°C	187 mm
Oct	28°C	25°C	332 mm
Nov	29°C	24°C	377 mm
Dec	29°C	24°C	181 mm

Airports near Colombo

Calculated

Straight-line distances calculated from each airport’s coordinates in the Originfacts airport records. Road distances are longer.

Bandaranaike International Airport: common questions

Where is Bandaranaike International Airport?

Bandaranaike International Airport serves Colombo, Sri Lanka. Its coordinates in OurAirports are 7.181°, 79.884°.

What are the airport codes for Bandaranaike International Airport?

The IATA code is CMB and the ICAO code is VCBI.

What time zone is CMB in?

Bandaranaike International Airport is in the Asia/Colombo time zone.

What is the official website of Bandaranaike International Airport?

The airport’s official website is airport.lk. For questions about a booking, contact the operating airline.

How many runways does Bandaranaike International Airport have?

OurAirports lists one open runway at CMB: 04/22 (3,350 m (10,991 ft), asphalt).

Where can you fly nonstop from CMB?

Travelpayouts fare data retrieved 5 Oct 2026 showed nonstop fares from CMB to 37 destinations in 21 countries, the most in India (9), China (4) and United Arab Emirates (3). That reflects fares travellers found, not a complete or live schedule.

When did Bandaranaike International Airport open?

Wikidata gives 1944 as its official opening date.

Who operates Bandaranaike International Airport?

Per Wikidata, CMB is operated by Sri Lanka Air Force.

Which airlines have a hub at CMB?

Wikidata lists CMB as a hub of Cinnamon Air, FitsAir, Lankan Cargo and SriLankan Airlines.

How far is CMB from Colombo city centre?

Bandaranaike International Airport is about 28 km north of Colombo city centre in a straight line, calculated from coordinates. The distance by road is longer.

Is there a bus from Colombo airport to the city?

Yes. Since June 2025 the Route 187 luxury air-conditioned bus has run 24 hours a day between the airport and Colombo Fort on the expressway, boarding at the Departure Terminal Outer Porch.

Which terminal do international flights use at Colombo airport?

Terminal 1. Terminal 3 serves domestic flights, and Terminal 2 had not yet been built as of May 2025.

Sources

Terminals, transport and parking were checked by hand against the numbered sources below on 5 Oct 2026. Every other section comes from the dataset listed, with its date where the dataset has one.

WhatSourceDate
Codes, location, time zoneOriginfacts airport record4 Sept 2026
Official websiteWikidata record (official website property) (opens in a new tab)5 Oct 2026
Coordinates, runways, type, elevationOurAirports (opens in a new tab) — public domain5 Oct 2026
Opening, operator, passengers, hubsWikidata item Q60900 (opens in a new tab) — CC05 Oct 2026
Nonstop destinations, airlines on faresTravelpayouts Data API (Aviasales fare cache) — fares found, not a complete or live schedule5 Oct 2026
ClimateNASA POWER (opens in a new tab) daily data (MERRA-2 reanalysis), averaged by Originfacts2016–2025
Distance to city centreCalculated from airport coordinates and the Wikidata (opens in a new tab) city-centre point—
Nearby airportsCalculated from airport coordinates—
Terminals and transportChecked by hand: numbered sources below5 Oct 2026

[1]Will delays in completing Airport terminal 2 cause major losses? — Daily Mirror (dailymirror.lk), 2025-05-30
[2]New airport–Colombo luxury bus service now in operation — Daily Mirror (dailymirror.lk), 2025-06-04
[3]Premium experience for high-income airline passengers at BIA — Daily Mirror (dailymirror.lk), 2022-08-19

Background reading:Wikipedia (opens in a new tab)Wikidata (opens in a new tab)