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CMB - COLOMBO AIRPORT

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  Reviews = 28



PAGE:   1 | 2 |

Customer Rating = from 1.0 (very poor) to 5.0 (excellent)





COLOMBO AIRPORT review : 21 June 2008 : by Russell Barr

Customer Rating : 1/5

1 Star Rating

What a dreadful experience! Heathrow/Colombo/Bangkok and return. The outbound wasn't too bad, but that was probably due to the arrival time of our flight at Colombo, the immigration process took about 40 minutes, but the return was a nightmare. Our flight arrived at about 1000pm and seemed to coincide with the arrival of several other flights - six or seven hundred passengers at immigration and about twelve desks but only four were being used, that's about 150 passengers per desk, after queing for over an hour the immigration official serving the queue that we were waiting in decided that he had had enough and cleared off - we were then told to join the back of one of other three queues. Another hour and a half wait and it was our turn, my wife got processed but when it came to my turn the official decided that he was thirsty and was going for a drink. I tried telling the official that we were together but that fell on deaf ears and again we were told to join the back of one of the two remaining queues. Pandemonium broke loose, airport security then stepped in and began screaming at passengers - almost immediately two more desks were opened, but that just made matters worse. Never again. The security people were treating the passengers as though we were animals, I appreciate that there are big security issues in Sri Lanka but our experience was totally unacceptable.


COLOMBO AIRPORT review : 17 June 2008 : by Sukhith Jayawickrama

Customer Rating : 3/5

3 Star Rating

The airport is clean and modern, duty free shops are good and the staff polite and helpful. Check-in takes a lot of time due to the many security checks.


COLOMBO AIRPORT review : 13 June 2008 : by Kurt Müller

Customer Rating : 4/5

4 Star Rating

A new airport clearly built for greater demand than the handful of flights arriving and departing nowadays. Swift immigration clearance on arrival, but a wait of 30 minutes for the bulk of luggage to find its way onto the belt (ours was the only plane in port at the time). Lots of banks and at least one ATM just outside the customs hall. Departure area now has a farewell lobby with shops just ahead of the check-in area. According to the signage, there should also be a restaurant, but the door under the sign leads to nowhere. Incredibly ignorant/rude staff at the “Food City” minimart (interrupt clocking up your purchases half-way through to attend to customers avoiding the queue). Check-in smooth and quick, as is passport control on exit. All in all, quite pleasant and efficient, since almost everything is in oversupply.



Colombo Airport by C Young

11 December 2007   Customer Rating : 4 Star Rating

I was pleasantly surprised. The airport was clean with every facility available. We arrived 02.30am on way to Goa and most shops were open. The snacks and drinks were nice and staff polite. The duty free shops were well stocked and seemed to be cheaper than others we have encountered. Plenty of comfortable seating to sleep or rest. We were only there a few hours during transit each way but very good all round airport.

Colombo Airport by John Brockhurst

17 October 2007   Customer Rating : 4 Star Rating

International flights now use air bridges which is a great improvement on the old bus system. I was pleasantly surprised to see that luggage touts have been kept at bay.

Colombo Airport by J Brockhurst

4 April 2007   Customer Rating : n/a

There is nothing wrong with Colombo airport. The facilities are modern, comfortable and as good as most. However, the one drawback is the luggage touts outside the bus/taxi pick up area. They will snatch your case as you are about to put it into your bus/taxi and then expect a tip. Few Brits will have any local change, the touts DO NOT want British coins and will angle for a fiver which they can change in a bank. If they do get British coins, they will pester people to change them into notes. Don't give them anything, they do absolutely nothing for their services. Be firm, if need be agressive as they are. If you need a porter, they are available in the terminal itself. Their prices are much less, without any hassle. Always take single US dollar bills, great for tipping, buying goods.

Colombo Airport by Ushan Liyanage

27 September 2006

Landed at CMB on-time and quickly disembarked via the airbridges and straight through to immigration. The Airport is still undergoing improvements and the baggage collection is now located at a new section of the airport downstairs. My luggage came out first (Skywards Gold) and straight through the empty customs area. Pass through the usual shouting from the FX changers and through to the arrivals section which is crowed with people, touts, taxi drivers - keep luggage close to you! Departure process was also painless. Security is tight these days given the current situation, however, the security staff promptly sent me through to the departures area without any hassle. Departures area is the usual chaos, but battled my way through to the Skywards counter. Check-in was fine and got bumped up to Business Class which was great! After clearing Immigration, proceeded to the lounge. However, could not get in as the check-in lady forgot to give me a pass! The lady at the lounge said I could not come in even though I showed both my Skywards Gold Card and Boarding Card. Eventually, I went to the Transit Counter, received a pass and finally got in. The Serendib Lounge was very nice, peaceful and the food was good. The Airport is building new retail shops and Day- Rooms are still available for US$25 for 12 hours (rooms are basic, but clean). Massages are also available from US$5 for stressed travellers! It is good to see that Colombo International Airport is improving.

Colombo Airport by Mike Scott

30 April 2006

Immigration helpful and friendly - help with forms for visa and checked I was taking correct bag. Well done. Out of airport in less than 15 mins - outstanding. Back out of Colombo on 5 April. through security with little fuss and polite security staff. Check in with SriLankan Airlines excellent. Again, immigration staff very helpful with forms needed. New terminal area very good. Lotus Lounge was clean and quiet. Transfer to plane quick and efficient. I had read this website regarding Colombo airport and was expecting a horrendous experience. However, compared with my other experiences of airports in the subcontinent, this was much better than expected. I look forward to my return.

Colombo Airport by Simon Boxall

8 April 2006

Have been to Sri Lanka three times so far and the airport was always the real sting in the tail. Arrival is fine. A bus takes you from the steps of the aircraft to the terminal building. The airport isn't huge so there are never more than 3 or 4 flights arriving every hour. This means there are little or no queues at immigration, and baggage comes through within 20 minutes of flight arriving. Main arrivals area is large and open, with at least 6 foreign exchange desks. (All with the same exchange rates) Beware local men in orange jackets, who will happily help you take your luggage to your transfer bus, then stand there and demand a ridiculous amount of money for their "service" - just carry your own bags! Departing is another story. Due to previous terrorist acts in / near the airport, they are now very stringent. On arrival at the airport, you will queue outside, as there are metal detectors and security guards immediately inside the front entrance, to avoid people smuggling bombs into the terminal building. You could queue for anything up to 45 minutes. Keep your eye on your bags at all times, as again in the airport there are more locals just waiting to "help" you with your bags. While you are being frisked, they may even happily take your bags to the check in desk for you while you are not looking, so when you turn around your bags are not there! (I speak from experience) Once you arrive at the check-in area, every suitcase and hand bag are put on a large metal table and thoroughly searched by security guards. (Make sure you have your padlock keys handy) Check in staff are rude and unhelpful, and annoyingly spread out single / couple travellers when they check people in, meaning if you are travelling in a large group it is highly unlikely you will all sit together as there are never more than 1 or 2 seats left together. (This is a nightmare if you have children) Finally once you have checked in you are free to shop in the single duty free shop. Time to board and yet again you go through another metal detector and burly security guard before you get to the gate. The gates are small rooms, not big enough to cope with all the passengers of an A330 / A340 that Sri Lankan flies. And eventually you can board the aircraft via bus and air-stairs.

Colombo Airport by Gordon Sadler

26 February 2006

Arrived Colombo on 20th Jan from LHR via DXB. Was through immigration and waiting for baggage within 20 mins of steeping off plane - baggage retrieval took a further 20 mins... but 40 mins from stepping off plane to exiting the terminal is brilliant. Departed Colombo on 10th Feb... check in a bit of a scrum, but reasonably fast. New departure lounge is excellent - still being finished but good selection of duty free shops - and a smoking room. Overall, after experiences at Indian airports, was very surprised and impressed with Colombo airport.

Colombo Airport by D Nyhuis

14 January 2006

Flew Emirates Business Class to Australia. When we arrived at the airport, they had not yet opened the check in counter, so when they did we were the first ones to check in. I am pleased to say that we had a hassle free check in. We even got our prebooked seats. We also got to use the new section of the airport, which meant boarding the plane via a walkway/jetty - no shuttle bus. Even if we had been travelling Economy, it appears that they have improved their queuing system at the check in counters. Serendib Lounge was also another pleasant surprise - spacious, clean, modern and nice food.

Colombo Airport by Wilhelm Stoeckl

21 December 2005

I checked into Austrian/Lauda-Flights using Business-Class CMB-Vienna 3 times in the past 2 years, each time with confirmed pre booked seat- reservations - yet it was never possible, to get the confirmed seats, as the ground-staff (either Austrian or SriLankan Airlines) seemed to have blocked or given away the pre-booked seats for "important passengers", as the station manager confirmed. It is enough inconvenient, negotiating such happenings in a row of waiting passengers once, let alone on each of your flights! Although I was successful in getting my pre-booked or at least acceptable seats every time, there should be a closer look onto those strange habits of the ground staff, as similar experiences have been reported by other passengers frequently.

Colombo Airport by Ryan Chao

13 December 2005

Last month I passed thru CMB during midnight time. The airport has been renovated in the arrival area, not yet in check-in/baggage claim area which is a bit tatty. I flew with SQ. Buses are used to transfer to the terminal. I observed the are unused jetway slots. It would be nice to go thru the jetway. Clearing the immigration was quick. There are many money changer counters and an ATM (kind of tucked behind those counters.) Before departure, duty free items are available for last minutes shoppers. Local products and souvenirs are reasonably priced. Waiting area in the boarding lounge is old and not spacious. It can only accommodate the half empty flight load of passengers. It is functional airport yet it could use some improvements.

Colombo Airport by G Howells

28 October 2005

Although there is still a lot of building work apparent, our transit was relatively painless. They were a lot more organised getting us onto the plane than at Heathrow - they called for passengers with babies and young children first. A contrast from joining our flight at Heathrow, where, although they called for parents with young children first, other passengers totally disregarded this and just pushed forward - as we all presumably had seats, what was the panic ?

Colombo Airport by D West

9 September 2005

Checked in at 1030am Business class Sri Lankan Airlines with no problem. There is still work in progress along the route but there was no real problem. Sri Lankan business lounge very pleasant with good views of aircraft (if you like that sort of thing). The departure lounge was OK but the sooner the piers/jetties are introduced the better. The organisation of the transfer buses appears rather haphazard. I've been to worse airports,

Colombo Airport by Kurt Müller

20 August 2005

The sooner the new terminal extension with air bridges is operational the better. During busy periods (particulary between 10.30 p.m. and midnight), there seems to be a shortage of ground handling equipment; we were kept waiting in our aircraft that had just arrived for over ten minutes (air con switched off) until steps had been put in place. Likewise, the departure hall is a nightmare during peak traffic, with passengers for 4 or more wide-bodied aircraft departures having to go through only three scanners and frisking points. The queues (and other forms of approach) for security checking entirely take up what is supposed to be the departure hall lobby.

Colombo Airport by Charles Birch

9 August 2005

Arrival in Colombo has improved with renovation of the building, however departure is still a disaster. The last three departures there was no air conditioning working at the check-in counters and by the time you have gone through passport control you are soaked in sweat. When you get on the bus to travel to the plane you are left standing on the bus with the doors open for 10 to 15 mins breathing the exhaust from the bus. One of the worst airports that I have to use.

Colombo Airport by Claudia Klages

12 July 2005

Having travelled to and from Colombo more than 30 times I still find this to be one of the worst anywhere. Contrary to the people of Sri Lanka, the staff at Katunayaka manage to be more most unfriendly anywhere. Prices do not compare with service, check-in is a nightmare.

Colombo Airport by Annette Wellings

6 May 2005

I found Colombo airport to be much better than I was anticipating after reading comments made about it. Yes it's busy and seemingly too small to accommodate the mass of people who pass through-but the staff are friendly, the toilets adequate and the duty free is interesting-albeit more expensive than you would expect. It's outside that will drive you nuts! Ensure you book a taxi to take you to your destination before you arrive at the airport-do not try and get one there: organise it by e-mail or phone they will happily send you one for a very reasonable price and the hotel taxi driver will find you pretty quickly. Keep an eye on handbags and luggage outside as it's mayhem and there are some dodgy looking people outside at all times-better to be safe than sorry!

Colombo Airport by Jason Tottey

14 November 2004

I found the airport to be extremely disappointing. Passport checks in departures seem to take a lifetime. Sri Lankan's business lounge is a small cubby hole tucked away at the back of the shops. Uncomfortable chairs and generally pokey atmosphere. On the plus side 1L bottles of spirits to help yourself.

Colombo Airport by Desmond Gunatilaka

17 September 2004

I travel to Sri Lanka frequently. The airport remains in the last century. Arrivals are subjected to long waits at Immigration (specially if flights from Middle east arrive). Porters try to negotiate payments before picking up luggage. Departure area begins at door- no room to say goodbye to anyone. The security people search luggage without gloves - get offended when this is pointed out. Lounges for First and business class have no attached bathrooms. Service is good and lounge is clean. No announcements and no monitor in lounge. Still no jetways but with expansion it is supposed to happen. Rainy days are a mess.

Colombo Airport by Jane Fletcher

30 January 2004

Bandereika airport in Colombo Sri Lanka may not be the largest airport in the world but is certainly the friendliest- the ground staff from Airline staff to shop assistants to porters immigration staff and toilet attendants - all very efficient helpful and friendly. The cafeteria in departures is a bit quaint in its method of ordering and service - but none the worse for that - its a pity though that the public are not allowed into the departure area before check in. You have to be dropped off very quickly at the main door - with hardly any time to say goodbye to your friends.

Colombo Airport by J Fazlulla

16 January 2004

I use Colombo a couple of times to go to India and south Asia. I love flying Sri Lankan. But the airport is a bit of a let down IF you are among the 'big airport is best' . If you are looking for the best in anything, then CMB airport will be a pleasant surprise, though small in size, Colombo lends warmth to its passengers through courteous and freindly staff. You will always find the ground staff smiling everywhere. There can be airports as grand as DMM or DXB, but if one has travelled through/to these airports, you will find that the ground staff often do not care. While in Colombo, each and every passenger is treated with courtesy and respect. I love this place, and with recent news that a brand new terminal will be taking over BIA, it gives me added reason to use Colombo.

Colombo Airport by S Brackley

1 January 2004

This has to be the worst stopover airport ever, okay the flight was cheap but next time I fly I will go via Singapore. This airport should not even be considered by airlines as suitable as a refuel stop. Two buses to escort 440 passengers into a terminal that has minimal air conditioning, appalling toilet facilities etc etc, need I go on, only fly into Colombo if staying in Sri Lanka!

Colombo Airport by Suresh.Johnpillai

11 September 2003

I have been at Colombo international Airport frequently for last some years. I would describe the situation got bad to worse every time I am going there.  Arrivals to the airport make anybody feel unwelcome to the country. They still use buses to and from flights to embark or disembark the passengers. The officials at immigration gives a look as prison guards. The toilets one of the worst in any major airports. Outside the airport is a mess and people everywhere shouting and hitting others with their trollies. Departure lounge is even worse category. Travellers and their accompanies pressed in a small area without any proper system to handle the mess. The officials are ineffective and sometimes even aggressive. I believe the airport should employ more younger people with good knowledge in English. Immigration officials should learn how to make feel welcome to the country.

Colombo Airport by A Dissanayake

4 August 2003

Arrived at Colombo Intl. Airport after three years and was shocked to see the state of the terminal. The terminal couldn't handle the mass of pax coming in, the immigration officers worked slowly, the floor dirty and the most terrible thing was that the airconditioning didn't work, which made it impossible to spent much time there. The airlines really need to pressurize the Airport's Authority to modernize the arrival area and improve the facilities. The Departure Terminal is much very much better than the Arrival Terminal. Clean, airconditioned and spacious. There is are some restaurants a bar available. On the upper floor there are Duty Free Shops, a seating area and the Airline Lounges. The staff is very friendly and helpful at all times. There are plans to open a new terminal with new lounge facilities and aero bridges. Passengers need to pay a airport tax which they only let you pay in local currency, so passengers should remind to keep some cash with them.

Colombo Airport by Sherman Perera

01 August 2002

I have been travelling to Sri Lanka for the past 17 years or so, and the airport is pretty mediocre. To get from Aircraft to terminal you are taxied across the tarmac on a bus to the main terminal building - there are no jetways. Inbound is probably the worst feature of the airport. As soon as you enter the terminal, you are presented with customs / immigration. The staff do not smile or welcome you and look very hard going. The shops on offer (inbound) are mediocre ranging from Electrical shops and liquor shops. I think more to cater for the residents of the country (very old electrical stock). Toilets need to be upgraded as well - some still have the squatting systems in place. First impressions are appalling. Outbound is abetter once you get past the enormous amount of security/policel, lugguage scanning (some holding AK47 machine guns) you are presented with the check in counters. Public are able to enter the terminal after paying a small fee. The entrance to counters are for passengers only and is separated via a huge glass partition separating the two areas. Once past the immigration - First level are the gate lounges and second level are duty free shops and more lounges for seating. The shops offer a much better selection of goods more of the latest variety. Lounge offers viewing right across the Tarmac. Couple of restaurants are on offer. Overall the Passenger is given a much better treat on departure. This Airport needs some serious injection of cash to get it up to Western standards - but probably one of the best Airports in the Sub-continent





 


 




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