Colombo Airport

Colombo airport is ok, but crazy expensive. Arrivals were quick and efficient although we could not withdraw money from any of the ATMs (we later had no issues withdrawing money in town). Departures was also efficient and worry free, but shopping inside is ridiculously expensive. Prices are in US dollars, a Burger King meal can cost $15, a small bottle of water is $2. You can bring in food and water from outside, so do so. Also, exchanging money will cost you 500LKR. Seating is limited and the WiFi keeps dropping, you have to sign in every 3 minutes. On the upside, the airport is clean and staff is helpful.

Worst airport I've been to. Positive Aspects: Staff are (mostly) friendly and helpful, as is most of Sri Lanka. Negative Aspects: Layout confusing despite its small size, facilities such as restrooms are often broken, dirty or simply not working. Shops are incredibly expensive (almost double the usual prices). Air conditioning is weak (or not present at all), prepare to sweat the whole time you are here. Wifi is available but incredibly slow and disconnects every few minutes - every time you are asked to enter your passport ID on the login page, but 123 or any other letters will work as well. Arrival is chaotic as you have to fill out a given immigration document (even if you already have a Visa, which is not checked at all), but there are no pens provided. Passengers have to share a few pens some have brought in their hand luggage. To visit this beautiful country you have to go through this mess, however for a stopover it is not recommended at all.

I am a fan of SriLankan Airlines but not the airport. Have spent 4 hours late in the night in this Airport. Its a small airport with limited food outlets and seating. Prices at food outlets are very costly. 1L water bottle will cost you $2 (288 srilankan rupee) but the actual price on the bottle is 25 srilankan rupees. Too many security checks and limited seating in the airport. Restrooms are overflowing and there's no one to take care of them and wifi in airport disconnects every 10 mins.

I have travelled through this airport many times over the last 15 or so years, and have to say that it has improved dramatically. Yes there is stil chaos all over the place but in general staff are polite and helpful and there is ample seating once you have checked in and gone upstairs after immigration. The shops have improved and there are a couple of restaurants which while not 5 star and not too bad, and just a wee bit pricey. However all in all it is far form the worst airport I have been through.

Although its a small airport compared to other Asian hubs, its efficient and staff were helpful. Airline check-in staff, security staff and others were polite and helpful. Not the best airport for shopping though, food availability was limited. Transport to airport from capital city was quick due to new expressway. Will travel to/from this airport in future.

I have been using this airport for the past few years and am quite happy with it. To me, it is still fairly hassle free and efficient. SriLankan airlines business class customers like myself get to use a special VIP silk route to enter the airport and check in. So the departure process is very smooth from the start. Immigration can be a little long at times, but still move fast enough. There were some good duty free shops, lots of tea and souvenir shops, a few restaurants (including a Burger King), a branch of Odel departure store etc Since it isn't a very big airport, moving around is easy. About the arrival, it is the same thing and very smooth too. The immigration queue is not long, luggage delivery is quick, banks available for currency exchange, and a few mobile shops to purchase local sim cards. Taxis are easy to find too.

The time was 3.30 am but the departures queues were fairly long. I benefited from having reserved my seat online. My main complaint is that the prices in all shops and restaurants are in $US. The prices even for a coffee are 3x the price outside.

Flew to Frankfurt with Sri Lankan and the check in was fast and simple. The airport itself doesn't facilitate many products available for passengers to use. Besides the Palm strip restaurant and the few coffee outlets there is nothing else. Duty free is very limited. Terminals however were very clean and the staff work valiantly to keep it clean. Arrival itself is a complete contrast. from clearing immigration till the point of customs you are surrounded by people shouting orders and is honestly one of the noisiest experiences ever. The staff are rude as they can possibly be. The airport is in need of serious improvements!

The worst airport experience of my life! I had to change flight here travelling from Rome to Male and on the departure day I had to wait about 8 hours. Dirty restrooms dirty floors dirty seats just a few shops to spend the time bad prices. Low quality food at the Palm Strip restaurant and in the end no one among the airport workers able to tell us where to find a lounge with an entrance fee to pay. We received so many different bits of information and were directed to four different ones all with no allowed access. On the day of the flight back to Italy due to a long delay we went to the SriLankan travel assistance desk and received a coupon for a meal. Again extremely bad quality at the Palm Strip restaurant where we had to "choose" among 3 dishes. Definitely the worst airport I've ever seen.

Colombo Airport is in no way of international standard. The main area is a long corridor with very limited seats and on both sides of this corridor are the boarding gates. The interiors are very old and in shabby condition. The check-in counters are limited in numbers but they are never too crowded as the airport receives very limited number of flights and its main airline SriLankan Airlines too has limited flights. The immigration counters are also limited in numbers and the behaviour of immigration officers are pathetic. To me they seemed lethargic in their work and very callous in their attitude. There are very few eating joints and couldn't find a single international chain (KFC/McDonald/Burger King). There were only a few SriLankan restaurants serving SriLankan local food. It was surprising to see the very few duty free shops but a large number of shops selling kitchen and household items. The outside of the airport was very chaotic. No separate lanes for taxi/private cars or buses. All were in same lane.