MY FS FLIGHTS
Bandaranaike International Colombo Airport (VCBI/CMB) is Sri Lanka's principal international gateway, situated at Katunayake to the north of Colombo in Western Province. It offers a single long paved runway equipped with ILS, and is a hub for regional and long-haul airline traffic as well as the home base for several simulator pilots.
Bandaranaike International Colombo Airport, known by its ICAO code VCBI and IATA code CMB, is the main international airport serving Colombo and the wider island of Sri Lanka. It lies at Katunayake, a short distance north of the capital, and handles the bulk of the country's scheduled airline traffic. For a simulator pilot it is a busy, well-equipped large airport with a single very long instrument runway, making it a natural focal point for both airliner and general aviation flights into Sri Lanka.
The airport is located at Katunayake in Western Province, north of Colombo city, on the western coast of Sri Lanka. As the country's principal international aerodrome it sits within controlled airspace served by Colombo Approach, and pilots operating in the area should expect to work with area control and approach services before being handed to the tower for the airfield itself.
Bandaranaike International has one physical runway, 04/22, a hard-surfaced strip 10,986 feet in length. It is lit for night operations and equipped with an ILS, supporting instrument approaches in both directions.
Radio services are provided under the callsign Colombo. Colombo Approach operates on 120.9 MHz, the airport's ATIS broadcasts on 127.2 MHz, Colombo Ground operates on 121.9 MHz, and Colombo Tower operates on 118.7 MHz. The runway is served by an ILS, allowing instrument approaches to either the 04 or 22 threshold.
The airfield originated as RAF Negombo and was later known as Katunayake International Airport before being renamed Bandaranaike International Airport. It sits within the Basnahira Palata region of Sri Lanka and has long served as one of the country's key aeronautical sites.
Today Bandaranaike International Colombo Airport functions as a large international airport with scheduled airline service connecting Sri Lanka to destinations across Asia and beyond. It is recorded as the home base for a number of flight simulator pilots, reflecting its role as the natural point of arrival and departure for virtual flights to and from Sri Lanka.