Sri Lanka’s aviation industry continues its strong upward trajectory, achieving remarkable growth during the first nine months of 2025. Airport and Aviation Services (Sri Lanka) (Private) Limited (AASL) reported a total of 7,559,969 passenger movements, 47,719 aircraft movements, 680,821 transit movements and 1,706,308 tourist arrivals from January to September 2025.
Air Chief Marshal (Retd.) Harsha Abeywickrema, Chairman of AASL, commended the sector’s resilience and rapid expansion, stating:
“In response to increased requests from international airline partners to add flights and upgrade to wide-body aircraft, we are introducing 12 additional check-in counters as a short-term measure for the upcoming winter season. These counters will be operational from November 1, 2025.”
To accommodate the surge in traffic, AASL, in collaboration with Sri Lanka Tourism, has also initiated the construction of a temporary marquee as an interim solution to address capacity constraints at Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA).
Chairman Abeywickrema added:
“We are delighted by the strong growth trajectory of Sri Lanka’s aviation industry, despite current capacity challenges. This progress reinforces our confidence in commencing construction of the BIA Terminal 2 in 2026. Handling over 7.5 million passengers by September is a testament to the sector’s strength and resilience, and a promising indicator that we are on track to achieve the government’s 2025 tourism targets.”
The strong performance underscores Sri Lanka’s growing appeal as a regional aviation hub and a key destination for global travelers ahead of the 2025 winter season.
