Bandaranaike International Colombo Airport
Colombo · Sri Lanka · Asia/Colombo
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Airport HistoryEst. 1967
Colombo's international airport began as RAF Negombo, a British WWII air base, before Sri Lanka converted it into a civilian international airport that opened in 1967 with Air Ceylon's first jet services. Renamed for former Prime Minister S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike in 1970, the airport survived a devastating LTTE Black Tiger commando attack in 2001 that destroyed several aircraft, and has since expanded steadily into Sri Lanka's principal air gateway.
The site is established as RAF Negombo during WWII, hosting several Royal Air Force squadrons before being transferred to the Royal Ceylon Air Force in 1957 and renamed Katunayake.
After construction begun in 1964 with Canadian assistance, the completed international airport opens in 1967, replacing Ratmalana as Sri Lanka's primary aviation hub; Air Ceylon begins international operations with a leased Hawker Siddeley Trident and Vickers VC-10.
The airport is named after former Prime Minister S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike.
On 7 November 1971 the airport receives its first Boeing 747, a Condor charter aircraft carrying German tourists.
On 24 July 2001, fourteen LTTE Black Tiger suicide-squad members infiltrate the adjacent air base, destroying eight military aircraft, then reach the civilian terminal and destroy two Airbus aircraft and damage three others; seven government personnel are killed.
A new pier with eight aero-bridges opens, expanding gate capacity at the international terminal.
An Airport Express train service to Colombo launches in June 2010.
The airport records about 8.8 million passenger movements and roughly 195,000 metric tonnes of freight in 2024, serving 37 airlines across 52 international destinations.
General encyclopedic sources (Wikipedia, including the dedicated 'Bandaranaike Airport attack' article). TIME-SENSITIVE FLAG: a planned Terminal 2 and second-runway expansion (construction begun 2017, various completion targets cited through 2028) has faced reported delays tied to financing (JICA/Japanese loans) and mobilization was still pending as of the sources consulted; treat expansion timelines as provisional.