Sri Lanka Airports

Excellent news guys, BIA T2 will be resuming construction soon in November, and Gov is actively working on renovating T1 and is preparing a masterplan for it.

Does Katunayake really not need a second runway until 2055?

Mr. Ruwan Kodithuwakku, Deputy Minister of Ports and Civil Aviation, recently announced that Katunayake Airport will not require a second runway until 2055, citing recommendations from an international master plan.

​For comparison, London Gatwick—one of the world’s busiest airports—handles more than 250,000 flight movements per year using primarily a single runway. However, due to current limitations and technical deficiencies at BIA (such as a lack of high-speed exit taxiways), it takes longer for aircraft to land and vacate the runway.

​Industry experts suggest that modernizing the existing infrastructure is a more practical solution than constructing a new runway.

​However, if Katunayake Airport is to truly become a developed, world-class international hub, what other improvements—beyond a runway upgrade—should be prioritized?

Please share your thoughts in the comments.

Could they be upgrading the runway to 4,000m to support the increase in cargo aircraft? If I am not mistaken, extending the runway is only possible on the land side, correct?