| Bandaranaike International Airport | |||
|---|---|---|---|
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| IATA: CMB – ICAO: VCBI | |||
| Summary | |||
| Airport type | Public/Commercial/Military | ||
| Operator | Airports and Aviation Services Ltd | ||
| Location | Colombo, Sri Lanka | ||
| Elevation AMSL | 26 ft / 8 m | ||
| Coordinates | |||
| Runways | |||
| Direction | Length | Surface | |
| ft | m | ||
| 4/22 | 10,991 | 3350 | Asphalt |
Bandaranaike International Airport (IATA: CMB, ICAO: VCBI) 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 is the hub of SriLankan Airlines, the national carrier of Sri Lanka. The airport began as a Royal Air Force base during the Second World War, RAF Negombo. In 1957, when SWRD Bandaranaike removed all the British Military Bases from Sri Lanka (Ceylon), the base was handed over to the Royal Ceylon Air Force (RCyAF) and renamed Katunayake. 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, in 1970. It was renamed Katunayake International Airport in 1977 but was once again renamed Bandaranaike International Airport in 1995. In recent years, various expansion projects have been undertaken at Bandaranaike International Airport. A pier with eight aerobridges opened in November 2005, the first of its kind in Sri Lanka. On May 7, 2007 the Sri Lankan Government decided to shift some major portions out of the space adjoining the airport to Hingurakgoda, paving the way to more civilian operations.
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The Future Of BIA
The airport is undergoing resurfacing of its runway. A superhighway and rail link are currently under construction linking Colombo and Ratmalana Domestic Airport. Future projects 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 neighboring the airport. New approach channels into the airport will be created .
Incidents At BIA
- May 3, 1986 - In an operation carried out by the LTTE, a bomb in an Air Lanka (now SriLankan Airlines) Lockheed L-1011 TriStar 100 exploded while passengers where boarding for a short-hop flight to Male, in the Maldives. 14 people were killed, and the airplane was written off.
- March 24, 2000 - An Antonov 12BK operated by cargo carrier Sky Cabs crashed due to the lack of fuel. It crashed into two houses killing 4 people on the ground and 6 of the 8 crew onboard. The plane was broken into four parts.
- July 24, 2001 - Bandaranaike Airport attack. 14 members of the LTTE Black Tiger suicide squad infiltrated Katunayake air base, destroying eight military aircraft on the tarmac. They then moved to the civilian airport, destroying two Airbus aircraft and damaging three others. Seven government personnel were killed.
- 4 February, 2004 - The Ilyushin cargo plane operated by Sri Lankan Cargo Company Expo Aviation was landing in Colombo on a flight from Dubai. However, they descended too quickly and the landing gear contacted the surface of the sea at a distance of 10.7 km short of the runway. Assuming the undercarriage had been substantially damaged, he decided to carry out a belly landing on the side of the runway. Touchdown was accomplished 50 meters to the right of the runway.
- September 8, 2005 - While a Saudi Arabian Airlines Boeing 747 taxied for takeoff on an international flight from Colombo to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, air traffic controllers received an anonymous telephone call concerning a possible bomb on the aircraft. The crew was informed about this call and elected to perform an emergency evacuation. As a result of the evacuation, there were 62 injuries among the 420 passengers and 22 crew members. One of the passengers died as a result of injuries received during the evacuation, and 17 passengers were hospitalized. No explosive devices were found after a search of the aircraft. [1]
- June 3, 2006 – A Thai Airways flight TG 308, an Airbus 330 en route Colombo-Bangkok was forced to return to Bandaranaike International Airport for an emergency landing following a report of smoke in the cargo area. Pilots used fire extinguishers and made a safe landing.
- March 25, 2007 - At 0045 Tamil Tiger rebels bombed the Sri Lanka Air Force base adjoining the international airport. Three Air Force personnel were killed and 16 injured when light aircraft dropped two bombs, although no aircraft were damaged.[2] Passengers already on aircraft were disembarked and led to a shelter, while others trying to reach the airport were turned away and approach roads closed. The airport was temporarily shut down following the incident, but normal flights resumed at 0330.[3]
- April 27, 2007 - The airport was shut, power cut to the city and anti-aircraft guns fired when suspicious aircraft were spotted in the area.[4]
Airlines and destinations
The following airlines have scheduled services to Bandaranaike International Airport as of September 2007:
- Air Arabia (Sharjah)
- Air India
- Air-India Express (Chennai)
- Indian Airlines (Chennai)
- Air Italy (Milan-Malpensa, Verona)
- Air Sahara [a.k.a Jet Lite] (Bangalore, Chennai, Delhi, Male)
- Austrian Airlines (Vienna) (Formerly operated by subsidiary Lauda Air.) [5]
- Blue Panorama (Milan-Malpensa)
- Cathay Pacific (Bangkok-Suvarnabhumi, Hong Kong, Singapore) - (Currently Suspended)
- Condor Airlines (Frankfurt)
- Edelweiss Air (Zurich)
- Emirates (Dubai, Jakarta, Malé, Singapore)
- Eurofly (Milan-Malpensa, Male)
- First Choice Airways (London-Gatwick every 7 days)
- Jet Airways (Chennai)
- Kuwait Airways (Kuwait, Jakarta)
- LTU International (Düsseldorf, Munich)
- Malaysia Airlines (Kuala Lumpur, Male)
- Martinair (Amsterdam)
- Mihin Lanka (Bangkok-Suvarnabhumi, BuddhaGaya, Dubai, Male, Singapore, Tiruchirapalli, Trivandrum)
- Qatar Airways (Doha)
- Royal Jordanian (Amman)
- Saudi Arabian Airlines (Dammam, Jeddah, Riyadh)
- Singapore Airlines (Singapore)
- SriLankan Airlines (Abu Dhabi, Bangalore, Bangkok-Suvarnabhumi, Beijing, Channai, Coimbatore, Doha, Dubai, Delhi, Dammam, Frankfurt, Goa, Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur, London-Heathrow, Paris Charles de Gaulle, Karachi, Kuwait, Singapore, Tokyo-Narita)
- Thai Airways International (Bangkok-Suvarnabhumi)
Cargo airlines
- China Airlines Cargo
- Emirates SkyCargo
- Expo Aviation
- Korean Air Cargo
- Singapore Airlines Cargo
- Transmile Air Services
Former airlines
- Aeroflot
- Air Ceylon (Replaced by Air Lanka)
- Air Maldives (Flights ceased due to bankruptcy)
- AOM French Airlines (Flights ceased due to bankruptcy)
- British Airways
- British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) (Merged with British European Airways to form British Airways)
- Cyprus Airways
- Czech Airlines
- Etihad Airways (pending to restart in April 2008)
- Gulf Air
- KLM Royal Dutch Airlines
- Mahan Air
- Middle East Airlines
- Qantas Empire Airways (QEA)
- Royal Nepal Airlines
- Swissair (Flights ceased due to bankruptcy and was replaced by Swiss International Airlines)
- Trans World Airlines (TWA) (Flights ceased due to bankruptcy)
- UTA Airlines (Purchased by Air France)
- Oman Air
References
- ^ "Bomb hoax triggers panic at Sri Lanka airport," Asian Political News. 12 September 2005
- ^ http://peacejournalism.com/ReadArticle.asp?ArticleID=18199
- ^ http://www.defence.lk/new.asp?fname=20070326_01
- ^ http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,21629901-1702,00.html
- ^ http://www.dailymirror.lk/2007/08/03/ft/02.asp
