Bandaranaike International Airport

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Bandaranaike International Airport
IATA: CMB - ICAO: VCBI
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 (IATA: CMB, ICAO: VCBI) is the busiest of Sri Lanka's two international airports. 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 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.

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.

Contents

The Aerobridges
The Aerobridges

The airport is 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 neighbouring the airport. New approach channels into the airport will be created.

  • May 3, 1986 - In an operation supposedly 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 - 14 members of the LTTE Black Tiger suicide squad infiltrated Katunayake air base. Using rocket propelled grenades, anti-tank weapons, and assault rifles, the militants attacked the air force planes. They were not able to attack the aircraft in the hangars but did destroy eight military aircraft on the tarmac: three Nanchang K-8 trainer aircraft, two Mil Mi-17 helicopters, two IAI Kfir fighter jets, and a MiG-27. Five K-8s and one MiG-27 were also damaged. Some of the LTTE members climbed to the top of the air base's control tower to survey the scene to use as a vantage point. The six remaining LTTE members then crossed the runway to nearby Bandaranaike Airport. Using their weapons, they began blowing up any empty civilian aircraft they could find. One Airbus A340 was destroyed by an explosive charge; an A330 was destroyed by a rocket fired from the control tower. In addition, two A320s and an A-330 were damaged in the assault.
  • 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 taxiing 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 430 passengers and 22 crew members. One of the passengers died as a result of injuries received during the evacuation, and 19 passengers were hospitalized. No explosive devices were found after a search of the aircraft.
  • 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 personal were killed and 16 injured when light aircraft dropped two bombs, although no aircraft were damaged.[1] 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.[2]

The following airlines have scheduled services to Bandaranaike International Airport as of February 2007:

  1. ^ http://peacejournalism.com/ReadArticle.asp?ArticleID=18199
  2. ^ http://www.defence.lk/new.asp?fname=20070326_01

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