Sri Lanka Aviation

This depicts 99% reflection of my opinion. UL and Goverment has to take a Simple Bold decision.
Suggestion : A330-941 - 12 Jets + A320-251N - 2 existing Jets + A321-251N - 4 existing Jets + A321-251NX - 8 Jets.

Found this pic on Google. Pretty sure that's 4R-AND.

Looks like 4R-ABO is gearing up to get back into service! Spotted its ADS-B transponder active in the 320 hangar over the last few days.

SriLankan dropped their Kuwait flights with all the Middle East mess going on. Are Kuwait Airways and Jazeera still flying to CMB normally?

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Edelweiss is planning to increase its ZRH-CMB service from two to three weekly flights for the 2026/2027 winter season. This clearly reflects a rise in demand for direct flights between Europe and Sri Lanka.

So, word is that a joint task force from the Bribery Commission and the CID is heading out to Australia. They’re tracking down some people involved in that $2 million bribery scandal tied to the SriLankan Airlines Airbus deal with that European airline. Heard about it on NewsWire.

Well to be quite honest with you, my inner av-geek feels genuine pain when I remember the moment where the government cancelled the A350 order, it was kinda a good move financially, The A330-900 would have suited us better since it has the same type rating as the A330-300/200, and it would fit in better with our expansion stratergy as well. UL does not have the necessary demand and capacity to operate the A350 or the technically capacity right now to operate the A350,if they were considering a North America expansion, then yea, the A350 would make alot more sense and would be well aligned in their fleet stratergy. However, since the A330NEO is sufficient for the current long haul flights that UL offers, such as CMB-SYD, CMB-MEL, CMB-LHR, CMB-FRA and CMB-CDG, I believe it was kinda a good call. Though there should be quick to get the A339 into service by atleast 2039. the A333/A332s are aging.

Perhaps in the future, UL can replace their A332s with A339s, and replace their A333s with A359s. Hopefully they will also work on retiring their old A320ceos and instead work on getting more A321Ns or A320Ns. I belive that UL can be turned around in a few years time if they simply take bold decisions. the Soft Product is amazing, hospitality is great, though the Hard Product should be worked on. Thats my opinion, what do you guys think?

So, MSNs 55 and 60 are finally headed to China Airlines—they were originally meant for SriLankan before that deal fell through.
The A330neo is clearly the main focus for Malaysia Airlines moving forward, but it’s still wild to think they might actually ditch the A350s. Do you guys think SriLankan made the right call by canceling those A350s back in the day?

Hey! Just checking in to see if there’s any news on the 4R-CAE?

Thanks for the update!
I am only aware of the following expansions out of Colombo and Mattala.

• Malaysia Airlines: KUL-CMB 10 weekly, 7M8 (already operating)
• Turkish Airlines : IST-CMB 11 weekly A333 (already operating).
• Qatar Airways: DOH-CMB 35 weekly, B788, B789, B77W (already operating)
• Emirates, Flydubai, SalamAir, China Eastern, Chongqing Airlines and Air Arabia have restored the frequencies recently.
• Kuwait Airways: KWI-CMB 7 weekly A32N (already operating)
• Vietjet: SGN–CMB, 3 weekly, A320, from mid-August 2026.
• Vietnam Airlines: SGN–CMB, 3 weekly, A320/1, from mid-August 2026.
• Jetstar: MEL–CMB, 3 weekly, B788, from the end of August 2026.
• FitsAir: CMB-KUL, 4 weekly A320 from early September 2026.
• Beijing Capital Airlines: PKX–CMB, 1–2 weekly, A333, from mid-September 2026.
• Aeroflot: SVO–CMB, 3 weekly, B773, from early October 2026.
• British Airways: LGW–CMB, 3 weekly, B772, from the end of October 2026.
• Edelweiss: ZRH–CMB, 2 weekly, A359, from the end of October 2026.
• Belavia: MSQ-HRI, 1 weekly, A332 from the end of October 2026.
• French Bee: ORY–CMB, 2–3 weekly, A359, from December 2026.

I feel that these airlines operating direct flights to Colombo is a significant development this year compared to last.

On a negative note, I noticed that Singapore Airlines is not operating daytime flights to Colombo from the end of October 2026. Do you know the reason for this? Also, the AirAsia Group and IndiGo have reduced their flights to Colombo.

Are there any other airlines looking to start scheduled or charter flights to Colombo in the coming months or next year?

Sri Lanka Tourism and Aviation Industry Update (July 2026)

Sri Lanka’s tourism recovery is facing significant headwinds, forcing the government to lower its annual arrival target from 3 million to 2.5 million. Total arrivals for the first half of 2026 contracted by 1.8% compared to the same period in 2025.

Key Challenges

Middle East Transit Squeeze: Geopolitical instability and airspace closures near the Strait of Hormuz have severely impacted travel from European markets. The collective share of major Gulf hubs (Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Doha, and Sharjah) in tourist departures to Sri Lanka dropped from nearly 33% in June 2025 to 21.34% in June 2026.

​Aviation Market Share: Major Gulf carriers have seen their market share in Sri Lanka fall from 32% to 22.65% over the past year.

​Shifts in the Indian Market

​While the long-haul transit market is struggling, regional traffic from India has grown significantly, rising to 34.9% of all arrivals in June 2026 (up from 27.4% a year prior). However, this sector has become a battleground for market share:

​IndiGo’s Dominance: By launching high-frequency direct services, budget carrier IndiGo has aggressively captured the market, increasing its passenger share on India-Sri Lanka routes from 38.08% to 53.34%.

​Impact on SriLankan Airlines: The national carrier’s share on these routes dropped from 33.63% to 25.09%. This has triggered intense fare competition (with prices falling by 15%–25%).

​Strategic Response: To combat this, SriLankan Airlines plans to increase weekly flights to India from 90 to 100 and add Ahmedabad as a new destination.

https://www.dailymirror.lk/business-...ers/245-345963

Sri Lanka, Uzbekistan sign pact to boost trade and tourism ties. The two sides have commenced seasonal charter flights from Uzbekistan to Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka Tourism was invited to participate in the Tashkent International Tourism Fair, scheduled to be held in September 2026.

It seems 4R-ALH returned to revenue service yesterday after repairs from a lightning strike were completed.

Unfortunately, UL's planned increase to 10 flights to MEL in August 2026 has been cancelled. Is this due to a shortage in the active fleet? I notice that 4R-ALR hasn't flown since July 13th. On a positive note, Jetstar will still launch its MEL-CMB route starting August 25th.

I see that 4R-EXQ has safely arrived in Tarbes from Colombo with a stopover in SSH. Apologies, but my trip to Tarbes to see 4R-EXQ is no longer happening due to a leg injury I sustained in a recent car accident. However, I have asked local spotters to share photos of 4R-EXQ from Tarbes.

Please take a look at the user manual we created after some recent changes to our website. Apologies for posting this here, but I thought I would share it since most members use this thread. I really don't want anyone to be confused by the updates.

Taking the interior completely out and welding sections sounds like a heavy check. Were there specific structural issues they were looking for, or is this just standard preventative maintenance?

ALL getting a full repaint. Stripped down all the way to bare metal. Even the inside, everything removed, sections being welded and checked thoroughly.

4r - all

Flight Operations Analytical Report

Reporting Period: July 2026 Week 3

I'm really sorry to hear that EXQ has to leave the FitsAir fleet! It's a real disappointment how the global economy has impacted the aviation industry. I see FitsAir has terminated its LHE and KUL flights due to the current situation. I hope everything gets better, and that FitsAir increases its current fleet and expands its network.