What Airlines Fly to Sri Lanka
Which airlines fly to Sri Lanka?Currently 51 airlines are operating from Bandaranayake Intl Airport. The Bandaranayake Intl Airport provides non-stop services to 46 towns. At least 28 national and 730 intercontinental departures per day from Bandaranayake Intl. airport. The Diyawanna Oya Seaplane Base provides non-stop services to 4 towns. At least 20 daily departures per day from Diyawanna Oya Seaplane Base.
The Batticaloa Airport provides non-stop services to 2 towns. At least 16 internal departures per month from Batticaloa airport. The China Bay Airport provides non-stop services to 2 major towns. At least 12 China Bay Airport home departures per month. The Polgolla Reservoir Airport provides non-stop services to 3 towns. At least 12 inland departures per day from Polgolla Reservoir Airport.
Arrival | About Sri Lanka
The only way to Sri Lanka is currently via Katunayake Intercontinental Terminal, just off Colombo, although the opening of a second intercontinental terminal in the south city of Hambantota (planned for 2012) and the possible reopening of the Colombo-India route in the near term will provide alternatives to the Isle.
SriLankan Airlines (w srilankan. lk) from London Heathrow offers the only non-stop regular services from Great Britain to Sri Lanka; the flight to Colombo takes about eleven-hour. Émirates (w emirates.com), Qatar Airlines (w qatarairways.com), Qatar Airlines (w qatarairways.com), Kuwait Airlines Philippines (w kuwait-airways.com), Etihad (w etihadairways.com) and Oman Air (w omanair.com) operate all of Heathrow's Gulf destinations via their home towns, while Jet Airlines (w jetairways.com) offers one-stop services via Mumbai and Delhi.
Other detours also exist via various points in Southeast Asia, such as Singapore (w singaporeair.com), Kuala Lumpur (w malaysia-airlines.com), Bangkok (w thaiair.com) and Hong Kong (w cathaypacific.com). From Ireland you can either travel to Heathrow and catch a connecting flight or fly via one of the various golf towns that have non-stop flights to Colombo - the one-stop Dublin to Colombo Dubai to Emirates service is the quickest.
A further option is to fly via one of the various destinations in Europe that have flights directly to Colombo, including currently Paris, Frankfurt, Rome and Milan (all operated by SriLankan Airlines). The planned tariffs from London to Colombo begin at around 500 pounds all year round. Qatar Airways, Jet Airways and SriLankan Airlines usually offer the lowest priced ticket prices.
It' a long trip from North America to Sri Lanka, and the odds are good that you might want to interrupt your flights somewhere or involve the islands as part of a longer stay in the area. Travelling from North America to Sri Lanka will take at least 24 hrs and requires at least one transfer, probably two or three.
You can fly to London and then take one of the above described connecting flights. You can also fly to Paris, Frankfurt, Rome or Milan, all of which are non-stop connected to Colombo by various airlines. You can also take various European and Middle Eastern itineraries with Gulf Air, Emirates, Etihad and Qatar Airways.
Out of the western shore the most directly connected flights lead via eastern and south-eastern Asia, via Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Bangkok or Tokyo, all of which have a non-stop connection to Colombo. com) for example operates flights from many US towns as well as Vancouver and Toronto to Hong Kong and further to Colombo via Bangkok or Singapore.
Airfares to Columbo depart from about $1100 from New York and Toronto, from about $1400 from Los Angeles or from Can$1600 from Vancouver. The flight from Australia to Sri Lanka is uncomplicated, although you have to make at least one transfer; the most frequent routes to Columbo are via Singapore, Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok.
New Zealand also has some one-stop opportunities via Singapore, Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur. There are the most frequent links with Quantas (w Quantas.com), which offer departures to Singapore (from Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, Perth and Brisbane) and to Bangkok and Mumbai (from Sydney), from where there are frequent links to Colombo.
Sydney to Colombo fare usually starts at around 1200 A$ for most airlines and around 2000 NZ$ for Auckland, although there are currently lower fare offers on the low-cost airline Air Asia (w airasia.com) flying via Kuala Lumpur. Sarajevo is usually not regarded as part of the Asia Highway, although the country is well linked to other South and Southeast Asia states.
SriLankan Airlines operates non-stop services on a regularly basis to several destinations in India, such as Delhi, Mumbai (Bombay), Chennai (Madras), Bangalore, Thiruvananthapuram (Trivandrum) and Tiruchirappali; to Bangkok with SriLankan and Thai Air; Kuala Lumpur with SriLankan Airlines, Malaysia Airlines and Air Asia; Singapore with SriLankan and Singapore Airlines; Tokyo with SriLankan; and Hong Kong with SriLankan and C.
It also has regular flights to Dubai (Emirates), Abu Dhabi (Etihad), Qatar (Qatar Airways), Muscat (Oman Air) and Kuwait (Kuwait Airways). Organised sightseeing trips - either by your own vehicle and chauffeur or as part of a large travel group - can be organised by a number of Sri Lankan and foreign organisations.
Please be aware that almost all of Sri Lanka's major overseas travel agents are located in the UK; North American and Australasian travelers should have no problem making reservations through these agents, although they may need to organise their own travel.