Sri Lanka Aviation

FZ is operating to CMB today but rest of Middle East flights are cancelled according to airport.lk. Please correct me if I am wrong.

Any body spotted any special flights operating to evacuate pax ? Saw Neos air operated to CMB

Civil Aviation Authority Confirms 07 Middle East Flights Today Amid Airspace Closures

Director General of the Civil Aviation Authority, Daminda Rambukwella, says seven flights are scheduled to operate to the Middle East region today.

Speaking exclusively to Newsfirst, Director General Rambukwella confirmed that today, SriLankan Airlines will be operating two flights to London in addition to its regular schedule.

He added that Sri Lankan Flights to Frankfurt and Paris are also continuing as scheduled, further assuring that services to South Asia, the Far East, and Australia are operating as usual.

Director General Rambukwella further noted that, however, as airspace in several Middle Eastern countries remains closed in line with current NOTAMs, several flights departing from and arriving in Sri Lanka to certain Middle Eastern destinations have been temporarily suspended.

He highlighted that yesterday, the National Carrier, SriLankan Airlines, operated a special flight to Dubai. FitsAir also operated a service to Dubai. After the temporary reopening of airspace in the United Arab Emirates, Emirates operated a special flight to Sri Lanka. The particular aircraft arrived in Colombo, disembarked passengers, and returned to Dubai.

Director General Rambukwella added that SalamAir from Oman had also arrived in Sri Lanka early this morning and departed as scheduled. Oman’s airspace has remained open since Monday, with SalamAir operating six days a week.

Today, a total of seven flights are scheduled to operate to the Middle East. These include one flight to Dubai, one to Riyadh, and a FitsAir flight to Dubai, which will return with passengers to Sri Lanka.

Additionally, Flydubai is scheduled to operate three flights from Dubai to Sri Lanka today, including one in the morning and two later in the day, with the final flight departing at night.

Overall, approximately seven flights to the Middle East are operating today.

Meanwhile, he confirmed that flights to Europe, South Asia, and Far Eastern destinations continue as usual.

Director General of the Civil Aviation Authority, Daminda Rambukwella also attributed that from February 28 up to today, a total of 288 flights have been cancelled in total.​

Civil Aviation Authority Confirms 07 Middle East Flights Today Amid Airspace Closures​

most flights canceled or in "unknown" status in FR24.
It also shows that FZ570 is still scheduled for today.[DXB-CMB; 01:45AM departure time] might be cancelled as well because it's exactly been 4 hours past that(as of now).

Any update on Flight operations affected from/to Colombo due to Middle East tensions?

For HM the schedule has been 2 per week in Feb, not 3.
Up to mid March flights continue twice weekly then from 23Mar to 10Apr have been cancelled for operational reasons - aircraft is being used for charters.

4R-ALP is back in service but 4R-ALO is out of service

Fits Air is listing Ahmedabad on its website. Launch date seems to be 14-Apr-2026. Fits Air is planning to operate to AMD every Tue, Fri & Sun. Flight Booking & Schedule is not available yet.

Any idea if there is a sufficient pax & cargo demand between Colombo and Ahmedabad?

Is Saudia going to fly nonstop flights between Jeddah and Colombo from 01 May or 01 June ?

I believe this is a planned schedule :-

JED-CMB - SV838 - 03:15-11:45 - B787 - MON.FRI
CMB-JED - SV839 - 18:40-22:40 - B787 - MON.FRI

The flight number showed above is currently being used for SV flights between JED and MLE.

Please confirm.

Aircraft Movements at CMB by hour

FEBRUARY 2026
TIME	TOTAL WEEKLY FLIGHT ARRIVAL PER WEEK	TOTAL WEEKLY FLIGHT DEPATURE PER WEEK	TOTAL WEEKLY ARRIVAL + DEPARTURE FLIGHTS PER WEEK
00	25	46	71
01	13	46	59
02	28	25	53
03	31	17	48
04	2	36	38
05	35		35
06	28	6	34
07	7	50	57
08	45	28	73
09	29	32	61
10	26	16	42
11	56	17	73
12	15	28	43
13	15	40	55
14	2	32	34
15	41	2	43
16	33	24	57
17	40	29	69
18	12	55	67
19	15	17	32
20	10	26	36
21	43	20	63
22	48	27	75
23	35	15	50
Grand Total	634	634	1268
MARCH 2026
TIME	TOTAL WEEKLY FLIGHT ARRIVAL PER WEEK	TOTAL WEEKLY FLIGHT DEPATURE PER WEEK	TOTAL WEEKLY ARRIVAL + DEPARTURE FLIGHTS PER WEEK
00	25	45	70
01	16	46	62
02	28	29	57
03	29	18	47
04	2	34	36
05	35		35
06	28	6	34
07	7	50	57
08	45	28	73
09	29	32	61
10	26	16	42
11	56	17	73
12	15	28	43
13	15	39	54
14	2	32	34
15	41	2	43
16	31	23	54
17	39	29	68
18	12	54	66
19	16	16	32
20	9	26	35
21	42	20	62
22	47	25	72
23	35	15	50
Grand Total	630	630	1260

​

Colombo Airport Schedule Flight Information - March 2026

• *Batik Air Malaysia to resume KUL-CMB flights from 30-March-2026. To be operated 4 weekly onboard B737.
• *Fits Air is planning to operate additional two flights to Dubai in March 2026;
• *Air China is reducing the frequency of CTU-CMB flights from 7 weekly to 5 weekly in March 2026;
• *Air Seychelles is reducing SEZ-CMB flights from 2 weekly to 1 weekly in March 2026. Operated by A320neo. I see 2nd weekly operating on the 15-Mar-2026.
• *Jazeera Airways is reducing KWI-CMB flights from 7 weekly to 6 weekly in March 2026;
• *Capital Airlines is reducing PKX-CMB flights from 2 weekly to 1 weekly in March 2026;
• *Air Astana reduced ALA-CMB flights recently from 2 weekly to 1 weekly;
• *SriLankan Airlines is reducing CMB-KTM flights from 4 weekly to 3 weekly; Any reason for frequency reduction?
• *SriLankan Airlines Head of Commercial Dimuthu Tennakoon announced SriLankan Airlines is going to fly Colombo - Ahmedabad flights. Any details of the flight schedule?
• *Malaysian Airlines is going to increase KUL-CMB flights from 03-April-2026. Any details of frequency and aircraft to be used?
• *Fits Air is planning to increase CMB-DAC flights to 7 weekly from 15 March 2026;. Operated 5/6 weekly recently.
• *Singapore Airlines to replace A359 with B787 for the day time flights in March 2026;
• *Salam Air is using B737MAX for MCT-CMB flights. Any info?

Can anyone add in our forum if any new flights services missed in the below table?

A/L	DEST	VIA	FLTS PER WEEK IN FEB26	FLTS PER WEEK IN MAR26	FREQ VARIATION
3L	AUH	---	5	5	0
3Z	WAW	MCT	1	1	0
6E	BLR	---	14	14	0
6E	BOM	---	7	7	0
6E	HYD	---	6	6	0
6E	MAA	---	27	27	0
8D	DAC	---	5	7	2
8D	DXB	---	7	9	2
8D	KUL	---	3	3	0
8D	LHE	---	0	0	0
8D	MLE	---	9	9	0
AI	BOM	---	7	7	0
AI	DEL	---	14	14	0
AK	KUL	---	14	14	0
CA	TFU	---	7	5	-2
CX	HKG	---	7	7	0
EK	DXB	---	21	21	0
EK	DXB	MLE	7	7	0
EY	AUH	---	27	27	0
FD	DMK	---	10	10	0
FZ	DXB	---	21	21	0
FZ	DXB	MLE	7	7	0
G9	SHJ	---	20	20	0
GF	BAH	MLE	9	9	0
HM	SEZ	---	3	1	-2
IZ	TLV	---	0	0	0
J9	KWI	---	7	6	-1
JD	PKX	---	2	1	-1
KC	ALA	---	2	1	-1
KU	KWI	---	4	4	0
MH	KUL	---	7	7	0
MU	KMG	---	7	7	0
MU	PVG	---	7	7	0
OD	KUL	---	0	4	4
OQ	CKG	---	3	3	0
OQ	MLE	---	3	3	0
OV	MCT	---	6	6	0
QR	DOH	---	35	35	0
SQ	SIN	---	10	10	0
SU	SVO	---	3	3	0
TG	BKK	---	7	7	0
TK	IST	---	10	10	0
UL	BKK	---	14	14	0
UL	BLR	---	10	10	0
UL	BOM	---	14	14	0
UL	CAN	---	4	4	0
UL	CDG	---	3	3	0
UL	CGK	---	7	7	0
UL	COK	---	7	7	0
UL	DAC	---	7	7	0
UL	DEL	---	14	14	0
UL	DMM	---	7	7	0
UL	DOH	---	7	7	0
UL	DXB	---	11	11	0
UL	FRA	---	3	3	0
UL	FRA	CDG	0	0	0
UL	GAN	---	2	2	0
UL	HYD	---	5	5	0
UL	ICN	---	2	2	0
UL	IXM	---	6	6	0
UL	KHI	---	4	4	0
UL	KTM	---	4	3	-1
UL	KUL	---	14	14	0
UL	KWI	---	7	7	0
UL	LHE	---	4	4	0
UL	LHR	---	9	9	0
UL	MAA	---	21	21	0
UL	MEL	---	7	7	0
UL	MLE	---	21	21	0
UL	NRT	---	4	4	0
UL	RUH	---	7	7	0
UL	SIN	---	14	14	0
UL	SYD	---	4	4	0
UL	TRV	---	4	4	0
UL	TRZ	---	8	8	0
WK	ZRH	---	2	2	0

Hi All,

Any info on recently mentioned 2 RFPs of UL for 2 narrowbody Jets? and the status of 4R-ANE and 4R-ANF ?

Usual Statement😒

Domestic flights from BIA to Palali soon: Civil Aviation Minister

Domestic flights from Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) and Palali Airport will begin once the expansion of the latter is completed, Minister of Ports and Aviation Anura Karunathilaka said recently. “Those who reside in the North are compelled to travel by road when they arrive at BIA from abroad currently. However, it will be a thing of the past once the expansion of Palali Airport is completed. There will be a domestic airline service connecting Palali Airport and BIA,” the Minister told media.

He said Palali Airport will be able to handle large aircraft once the expansion is fully completed. “International flights will be operational from Palali once the runway is expanded,” he added. He said first phase of the expansion of the Palali Airport will be completed by July this year.

SriLankan Airlines struggles to secure 7 needed jets

SriLankan Airlines (UL, Colombo International) requires at least seven additional aircraft to rationalise its network and open new routes, though global supply shortages are hampering efforts to secure these units, according to deputy minister of ports and civil aviation Janitha Ruwan Kodituwakku.

Speaking to local outlet Daily Mirror, Kodituwakku stated that the state-owned carrier needs "at least one or two [aircraft] immediately" but noted that securing dry leases remains difficult due to high market demand. In the coming weeks, the government plans to launch a "special procurement process" to resolve the availability issue.

Chairman Sarath Ganegoda said, given SriLankan Airlines' current fleet size, that diversifying into manufacturers other than Airbus would not be feasible. Currently, the entire fleet of the airline is dry-leased.

ch-aviation fleets data shows that the carrier operates a 23-strong, all-Airbus fleet, comprising seven A320-200s, two A320-200Ns, four A321-200Ns, three A330-200s, and seven A330-300s. It has a standing commitment for four A350-900s, but has long been open about plans to cancel this order and is not expected to take deliveries of the aircraft.

Ganegoda told The Sunday Morning newspaper that the airline aims to introduce new routes and increase frequencies on existing services where it does not currently operate daily.

Separately, Kodituwakku confirmed that the government is currently shortlisting applications for the airline's chief executive position.

Hi Banu,

Sorry to come to in-between to your conversation :
BA operated and terminated their CMB service twice due to the commercial viability of the sector since BA targets high-end tourists and Corporate and VFR, but UL relies on Sri Lankana Diaspora , VFR and low to mid level tourists due to its lower operating costs.
QF will not operate to CMB anytime soon but JQ will be a direct competitor for UL (As we know MLE, SYD are UL's highest profitable routes) leading dilution of yield of the sector and making more options to choose for cutomers.
As far as my knowledge and some intel from UL, UL is looking for double daily frequency to MEL and Daily to SYD, but only the constraint is Aircraft availability.