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Bandaranaike International Airport

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Bandaranaike International Airport
IATA: {{{IATA|N/A}}} - ICAO: {{{ICAO|N/A}}}
Summary
Airport type public/commercial/military
Operator Airports and Aviation Services Ltd
Serves Colombo, Sri Lanka
Elevation AMSL 26 ft (8 m)
Coordinates 7° 10' 52.30" N

79° 53' 1.70" E

Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
4/22 10,991 3350 Asphalt

Bandaranaike International Airport ({{qif |test={{{1|}}} |then=IATA: CMB |else= }}{{qif |test={{qif 

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}}}|{{{3|}}}}} |then=,  |else= }}{{qif |test={{{3|}}} |then=FAA LID: {{{3}}}) |else=) }} is Sri Lanka's only international airport. It is located in Katunayake 35 km (22 mi) north of Colombo. It is administered by Airport and Aviation Services (Sri Lanka) Ltd.

It began as a Royal Air Force base during the Second World War. In 1957, when SWRD Bandaranaike removed all the British Military Bases from Sri Lanka(Ceylon), Katunayake was handed over to the Royal Ceylon Air Force (RCYAF). Part of it still remains an Air Force base.

In 1964 Anil Moonesinghe, the Minister of Communications, commenced the building of a new international airport to replace Ratmalana, with Canadian aid. The new airport was completed in 1967, and Air Ceylon, the National Carrier, commenced international operations from it using a Hawker Siddeley Trident and a leased BOAC BAC VC-10. The airport was also a Trans World Airlines (TWA) hub for a short time.

It was named Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) after SWRD Bandaranaike, who took the base over, in 1970. It was renamed Katunayake International Airport in 1977 but was once again renamed Bandaranaike International Airport in 1994.

In July 24, 2001 a LTTE suicide squad attacked Bandaranaike International Airport. In three waves, a highly trained and heavily armed 14-man squad penetrated the 800-acre high security complex and destroyed or damaged 26 commercial and military aircraft. The attack is among the biggest operations so far launched by the LTTE and the most destructive attack in the history of aviation.

Bandaranaike International Airport has been undergoing various expansion projects, for the last couple of years. A pier with eight aerobridges opened in November 2005, the first of its kind in Sri Lanka. The airport is also undergoing the resurfacing of its runway. A superhighway and rail link are currently in the process of construction, to provide more convenient connections to Colombo city, and the domestic airport at Ratmalana.

Future projects that are currently in discussion are: A second runway to support the Airbus A380, the largest commercial airliner in the world, a further eight passenger gates, a domestic terminal, a 5-storey car-park, and a five star hotel hotel neighbouring the airport.


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Airlines Operating to BIA

(As Of December 2005)

[edit]

Cargo Airlines

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