British Airways will begin nonstop service between London Gatwick Airport (LGW) and Colombo's Bandaranaike International Airport (CMB) on 23 October 2026, operating three times weekly through 26 March 2027. Flight BA2045 departs Gatwick on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays at 17:30, arriving in Colombo at 09:00 the following morning (block time approximately 10 hours). The return service, BA2044, departs Colombo on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays at 11:00 and arrives at Gatwick at 17:00 (approximately 11 hours 30 minutes), per Simple Flying.
Boeing 777-200ER aircraft in BA's 332-seat Gatwick configuration will operate the route, featuring 32 Club World business class seats (1-2-1 layout), 48 World Traveller Plus premium economy seats (2-4-2), and 252 World Traveller economy seats (3-4-3). From 2029, BA's Gatwick-based 777s are due to be replaced by Boeing 787-10s.
While British Airways has served Colombo previously, the current service is the first time it has operated fully nonstop in both directions. Prior services included a technical stop, which Simple Flying notes placed the airline at a competitive disadvantage relative to Gulf carriers operating one-stop services via Abu Dhabi, Dubai, and Doha. The nonstop routing removes that disadvantage on the London–Sri Lanka market.
Business Travel News confirmed the October 23 launch date and three-times-weekly winter schedule when the route was announced in March 2026.
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