Colombo Airport (CMB) — Direct Flights, Airlines, THB Fares

Bandaranaike International Airport (CMB, ICAO VCBI) is in Colombo, Sri Lanka. It is the based hub of SriLankan Airlines. In the SiamFlights catalogue, CMB is served by 2 airlines across 1 route (0 outbound, 1 inbound).

Airport at a glance

Our catalogue records 0 outbound and 1 inbound corridors at Bandaranaike International Airport (CMB / ICAO VCBI), serving Colombo, Sri Lanka, across 2 carriers with 1 of them based here. Time zone Asia/Colombo. Frequency across the corridors touching this field totals about 14 departures a week.

A base changes the outcome when things break. SriLankan Airlines are based at CMB, meaning aircraft, crew and operations staff sit on site. When a flight is cancelled the odds of a seat on the next rotation, or of a spare airframe, are far better at a base than at an outstation the carrier touches once a day. It is why the leg departing an airline’s own base usually recovers faster than the one returning to it.

Coordinates are for checking, not decoration. CMB sits at 7.18076, 79.8841. That is genuinely useful when booking a room or a transfer, because “near the airport” is claimed to wildly different standards. In a large city, map distance and real travel time in peak hours diverge sharply — read the travel time for the hour you will actually move, not the kilometre figure.

Airlines serving CMB

2 carriers appear at CMB in our catalogue and we hold an airline row for 2 of them, with baseline baggage spanning 30 to 30 kg. Alliances present: Oneworld, Star Alliance. 1 of them are based here. The corridors touching this field connect 2 countries in our catalogue.

The alliances present here shape connections. Oneworld, Star Alliance operate at CMB, which opens through-checked bags and continuous boarding passes on a single ticket. The caveat: sharing a terminal with a partner logo does not mean your two flights are actually connected. The agreement attaches to the carrier pair and the ticket type, not to the building.

“Serves” is not “flies daily”. This list covers every carrier appearing on a corridor into or out of CMB in our catalogue. Some fly seasonally, some a few times a week, and some sell as the marketing carrier on a partner’s aircraft. The number that matters to your plan is how many actually quote your dates — usually fewer than the full list.

CMB route overview

CMB has 0 outbound corridors in our catalogue, roughly 0 departures a week All figures are estimates of the standard schedule. 1 of those corridors carry a cached fare, the lowest ฿4,375. The field runs on Asia/Colombo, ICAO VCBI. The corridors touching this field connect 2 countries in our catalogue.

Inbound

Outbound and inbound are asymmetric because this is a catalogue boundary. We record 0 outbound and 1 inbound corridors for CMB. The gap reflects which route guides we chose to build — weighted to what travellers from Thailand search — not one-way service. The return flights exist whether or not we have published a page for them yet.

This field sits in our catalogue as a destination. We record 1 inbound corridors into it, splitting 1 short-haul (<4h), and no outbound guides — we build route pages only for journeys starting in Thailand. Departures from here exist; they simply have no page in this set yet. Read the carrier’s own schedule for the return.

Corridors & fares from CMB

The 1 corridor at CMB break down as 1 short-haul (<4h), serving mainly Buddhist pilgrims. We hold a cached fare for 1 of 1 route, the lowest ฿4,375 on BKK–CMB. The field runs on Asia/Colombo, ICAO VCBI. The corridors touching this field connect 2 countries in our catalogue.

Most CMB corridors here serve Buddhist pilgrims travellers. The mix is 1 short hop (under 4 h). Fares are shown in Thai baht (THB), and each route guide below carries live cached prices.

Why some rows have no price. We capture lows in passes, and not every corridor returns a value each time. Seasonal routes, thin routes and routes sold through narrow channels report irregularly. An empty cell means no capture succeeded in the latest pass — not that the route is closed or expensive. We leave it blank rather than interpolate, because plausible-looking estimates are exactly what makes a table untrustworthy.

Everything is shown in baht, and that matters more than it looks. Fares are converted to THB so they compare on one page, but the underlying prices are set in the currency of the market that issues the ticket. The same corridor can price differently issued in different countries, and the exchange rate moves between our capture passes. Read these as a ranking, not as accounting figures.

Direct flights to CMB — 1 route

Our catalogue records 1 inbound corridors into CMB from 1 country, block times 3.8 to 3.8 hours. Frequency figures are estimates combining every carrier on the corridor. Frequency across the corridors touching this field totals about 14 departures a week.

• BKK → CMB — 14×/wk, 3.8 h, low ฿4,375

How to read this list usefully. The frequency figure describes the risk in your plan, not the quality of the route: several departures a day gives you options when something breaks, a few a week means building in a spare day. We hold a cached fare on 1 of the 1 corridor here; the rest have no successful capture yet, which does not mean they cost more.

Direct destinations are not all reachable destinations. This list is the nonstop network in our catalogue. Everything else is reachable by connecting at a hub, which widens the choice and adds a point where the plan can break. If you must connect, make a single ticket the default and only split it when the saving is large enough to be worth the risk you are taking on yourself.

Destination context

The 1 corridor at CMB break down as 1 short-haul (<4h), serving mainly Buddhist pilgrims. We hold a cached fare for 1 of 1 route, the lowest ฿4,375 on BKK–CMB. Our catalogue records 0 outbound and 1 inbound corridors here.

Colombo is a cluster B (Buddhist pilgrims) destination for Thai travellers. Local currency LKR. Visa for Thai passports: ETA online (paid). Verify current visa rules at mfa.go.th before buying a ticket.

Why some rows have no price. We capture lows in passes, and not every corridor returns a value each time. Seasonal routes, thin routes and routes sold through narrow channels report irregularly. An empty cell means no capture succeeded in the latest pass — not that the route is closed or expensive. We leave it blank rather than interpolate, because plausible-looking estimates are exactly what makes a table untrustworthy.

Everything is shown in baht, and that matters more than it looks. Fares are converted to THB so they compare on one page, but the underlying prices are set in the currency of the market that issues the ticket. The same corridor can price differently issued in different countries, and the exchange rate moves between our capture passes. Read these as a ranking, not as accounting figures.

Time zone and connecting at CMB

CMB runs on Asia/Colombo, 1.5h behind Bangkok. The gap is constant year-round. Every time printed on a boarding pass is local to that airport rather than an elapsed duration, so subtracting one from the other gives you the wrong number.

Minimum connection time is not in our data. Every airport publishes one, and the figure differs for domestic-to-domestic, international-to-international and terminal-change connections. A booking system will not sell you less than that on a single ticket — but it will happily let you build less than that yourself across two tickets. That is where passengers most often create risk without realising it.

International-to-domestic is a full re-entry. At most airports that connection means clearing immigration, reclaiming the bag for customs, then checking in and passing security again — even on a single ticket. It takes materially longer than an international-to-international transfer. Plan around the actual steps rather than the gap printed on the itinerary.

Offsets make overnight flights deceptive. With CMB 1.5h behind Bangkok, a late-night departure can arrive the same morning or the next one on paper for identical flying time. That is the single most common reason transfers and first hotel nights get booked on the wrong date. Read the date on the final sector’s boarding pass, then confirm anything on the ground.

FAQ

Where is CMB airport located?

CMB (ICAO VCBI) is in Colombo, Sri Lanka.

Which airlines serve CMB?

2 airlines serve CMB, including SriLankan Airlines and Thai Airways. Compare baggage and alliances in the table above.

How many routes run from/to CMB?

The SiamFlights catalogue lists 0 outbound and 1 inbound routes for CMB.

Is CMB an airline hub?

CMB is a primary hub for SriLankan Airlines.

Do Thai passports need a visa for Colombo?

Visa for Thai passports: ETA online (paid). Check the latest at mfa.go.th.

What is the difference between CMB and VCBI?

CMB is the three-letter IATA code used on tickets and bag tags; VCBI is the four-letter ICAO code used in flight plans and operational documents. They are different systems, not an inconsistency.

How far is CMB from Bangkok time?

CMB runs on Asia/Colombo, 1.5h behind Bangkok. It does not change clocks seasonally, so the gap is constant.

Why do some CMB corridors show no fare?

Because no capture succeeded in the latest pass of our cache. Seasonal and low-frequency corridors report irregularly. A blank is not a closed route or an expensive one.

Related

• BKK → CMB