Flying to Sri Lanka
In 2013, British Airways (www.ba.com) began offering direct flights to Sri Lanka from London for the first time in over a decade. The national carrier, Sri Lankan Airlines (www.srilankan.lk), also operates a route between London and Colombo, as does BMI (www.flybmi.com). Other major European cities served by Sri Lankan Airlines include Frankfurt, Paris and Rome. Many tourists choose to divert to Sri Lanka en-route to India and, as a result, several carriers offer direct flights between the countries. Flights are most expensive between December and March, which is high season on the south coast beaches and in the Hill Country, while August tends to be the cheapest time to fly.
Air notes:
Mattala Rajapaska International Airport opened in the southeast of the country in 2013, and is expected to see continued development over the next few years. Its first phase has a runway long enough to handle jets to Europe, which will hopefully increase ease of access to the beaches in the south of the country. Construction of a new runway at Bandaranaike International Airport should be completed by 2015, and is expected to attract more air traffic to Sri Lanka.
Flight times:
From London to Colombo direct is 11-12 hours. There is often a stop in the Maldives. There are no direct flights from New York to Bandaranaike International Airport. From the US and Canada, all flights go via the Middle East or India and the shortest routes take approximately 20 hours.
Air passes:
Air passes: Star Alliance (www.staralliance.com) offers an Asia Airpass that covers 235 destinations within 19 countries, including Sri Lanka.
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