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Find cheap flights to Sri Lanka from $453

This is the cheapest one-way flight price found by a KAYAK user in the last 72 hours by searching for a flight from the United States to Sri Lanka departing on 5/7. Fares are subject to change and may not be available on all flights or dates of travel. Click the price to replicate the search for this deal.
1 adult
0 bags
Mon 5/27
Mon 6/3

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Good to know

Low season

October

High season

December

Cheapest flight

$453
Best time to beat the crowds with an average 14% drop in price.
Most popular time to fly with an average 25% increase in price.
Flight from New York John F Kennedy Airport to Colombo

FAQs - booking Sri Lanka flights

  • What are the visa requirements in Sri Lanka?

    International visitors to Sri Lanka hoping to attend symposiums, art, music and dance events, religious events, short-term training projects, seminars, workshops and conferences, and business meetings are required to obtain business visas. Short term business visas offered in Sri Lanka are only valid for 30 days with multiple entries. Long term business visas are valid for 90 days with single, double, and multiple entries.

  • Which airport should I fly to if I want to visit UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Sri Lanka?

    One of the most popular UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Sri Lanka is Sigiriya, which is nestled in the central Matale district. As you plan your itinerary in Sri Lanka, remember that Sigiriya Airport (GIU) is the closest domestic airport that serves this area. You get here via a connecting flight from Bandaranaike International Airport (CMB). Huge, sculpted lion paws, palace ruins, and gardens await.

  • What is the best airport to fly to in Sri Lanka?

    The most accessible airport in Sri Lanka is Bandaranaike Airport as it is Sri Lanka’s main international airport. It is located in the capital city, which offers easy access to other destinations within Sri Lanka. Popular sites, such as Sigiriya and Galle, are easily accessible from the airport through domestic flights. Do not be worried if you happen to come across military flights while at the Bandaranaike Airport as it is used as both a public and military airport.

  • Which airport should I fly into if I want to transit to New Delhi when I leave Colombo?

    Those planning to travel to New Delhi after their excursions in Colombo should remember that CMB is the major getaway in and out of Colombo, hence the best departure port to India’s capital city. You will land at Indira Gandhi International Airport (DEL) after about 5h 45min.

  • What documents are needed before boarding a flight to Sri Lanka?

    Most airlines will require a visa and valid passports, all of which have to contain expiry dates according to the expected stay in the country. A boarding pass is offered at the check-in counter upon providing either a physical ticket or an e-ticket.

  • Which Airport in Sri Lanka is closest to Pasikudah Beach?

    A vacation in Sri Lanka won’t be complete without exploring the beautiful Pasikudah Beach. This must-see attraction lies in the Batticaloa region, which is served by the Batticaloa International Airport (BTC). The land lies about 22 miles (35.8 km) away and can conveniently be accessed by a taxi in under 45 minutes.

  • Are there direct flights to Sri Lanka?

    Most airline providers do not provide nonstop flights from the US to Sri Lanka, meaning a changeover will be required. Changeovers on flights to Sri Lanka are made at either major EU transport hubs, such as Frankfurt, London, or Paris, or in Asia.

  • Are there hotels near Bandaranaike International Airport (CMB)?

    Travelers planning to arrive late at Bandaranaike International Airport from the U.S. or leave early back home via the same establishment will be glad to note that there are many idyllic hotels nearby. Typically, these hotels offer complimentary transportation to and from the airport to make your trip easier, especially if you have heavy luggage.

  • Do I need to use a child car seat while in Sri Lanka?

    There are no national child restraint laws in Sri Lanka, and visitors are not required by law to use child seats for children when leaving the airport. There are also no front seat restrictions, and car seats are not required to be installed in taxis for children of any age. Therefore, if you need a car seat it is advisable to travel with your own as accessing one upon arrival in Sri Lanka may be troublesome.

  • How long is the flight to Sri Lanka?

    An average nonstop flight from the United States to Sri Lanka takes 25h 19m, covering a distance of 9148 miles. The most popular route is New York - Colombo with an average flight time of 19h 20m.

  • What is the cheapest flight to Sri Lanka?

    The cheapest ticket to Sri Lanka from the United States found in the last 72 hours was $867. The most popular route is New York John F Kennedy Intl to Colombo Bandaranaike Intl and the cheapest round-trip airline ticket found on this route in the last 72 hours was $958.

  • What are the most popular destinations in Sri Lanka?

    Based on KAYAK flight searches, the most popular destination is Sigiriya (100% of total searches to Sri Lanka).

  • How does KAYAK’s flight Price Forecast tool help me choose the right time to buy?

    KAYAK’s flight Price Forecast tool uses historical data to determine whether the price for a given destination and date is likely to change within 7 days, so travelers know whether to wait or book now.

See more FAQs

Top tips for finding cheap flights to Sri Lanka

  • Enter your preferred departure airport and travel dates into the search form above to unlock the latest Sri Lanka flight deals.
  • Foreign visitors traveling to Sri Lanka are required to either have a visa or an Electronic Travel Authorization (ETA) to be allowed into the country. Citizens of the Republic of Seychelles, the Republic of Maldives, and the Republic of Singapore are exempt from having to apply for an ETA prior to traveling to Sri Lanka.
  • The choice of your arrival city when reserving a flight to Sri Lanka depends on the part of the country you’re intending to visit, whether it’s the Buddhist Temples in the north or the parks in the south. Nevertheless, most of Sri Lanka’s international air traffic comes through its capital city, Colombo (CMB).
  • If traveling to several locations in Sri Lanka, the best airport to arrive at is Bandaranaike International Airport as it is the largest and most centrally located.
  • Suppose your adventures are more focused on western Sri Lanka, it might be best to fly into Batticaloa International Airport (BTC) in Batticaloa. Still, you can choose a flight from any of the U.S. cities that lands at Bandaranaike International Airport (CMB), (in Colombo), then take ground transportation to this region.
  • If traveling to the south of Sri Lanka, it is advised to arrive at Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport as it is located in the south of the country and is less congested than Bandaranaike International Airport.
  • Travelers seeking to take in the breathtaking sights in the north central plain of Sri Lanka will find Anuradhapura as the most convenient town to stay in. Once you land in Colombo from the U.S., you can book a domestic flight to Anuradhapura Airport (ADP), which serves both civilians and the military.
  • There are few domestic flight options in Sri Lanka, and the best airline selection for domestic flights within Sri Lanka would be Cinnamon Air. A necessity before boarding domestic flights in Sri Lanka is proof of identification, which for international visitors is a valid passport.
  • Southeast Sri Lanka is famous for its numerous national parks and diverse wildlife species. If you are planning to explore Yala National Park or watch the whales as they leap in and out of water in Mirissa, book a flight from Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport (HRI),
  • Galle, one of Sri Lanka’s cities that exudes unimaginable beauty, is a common day trip for tourists coming to Sri Lanka. Galle is served by Koggala (KCT) Airport, which lies about 8.4 miles (13.5 km) away. You can catch a taxi to this place in about 18 minutes.
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Top 5 airlines flying to Sri Lanka

 
Need help choosing which airline to fly with from the United States to Sri Lanka? KAYAK airline reviews give an overall score for each airline based on loads of factors, including comfort, boarding, in-flight entertainment and more, to make your decision easier. See airline scores according to verified KAYAK customer reviews.
8.2
Singapore AirlinesOverall score based on 1479 reviews
8.4boarding
7.8food
8.2entertainment
8.7crew
8.1comfort
Airline reviews

Good flight. The food was served a bit late, hence a hurry to finish before landing. Excellent crew and service

10.0 ExcellentYM, Apr 2024MEL - SIN
Read more about Singapore Airlines reviews

Good flight. The food was served a bit late, hence a hurry to finish before landing. Excellent crew and service

Excellent meal served with real utensils, cardboard served hot meals instead of plastic utensils and plastic covers. Quick service, friendly and accommodating stewards.

I commend the flight attendants on our SFO-SIN flight who went above and beyond to provide us with extra snacks and food. This type of service makes the flight experience personal and awesome.

I requested an aisle seat and got a middle seat The flight gate was changed and the flight was delayed

It was a great flight Food was great Crew was spectacular

In general good, but the machine seems to be long in operation and some functions were restricted as e. g. Adjusting of seats.

Seating cramped; close to toilet, foul smelling and noisy, very unhygienic and disease risk Free and paid Wi-Fi NOT accessible at all - misleading advertising Very expensive sunglasses disappeared from back seat pouch. Coffee disgusting and cold

People were so nice! Economy seats were small and cramped feeling for me. I’m slender and 6 feet tall

The singapore airline now compared before covid, I like the service before covid. SQ was the best of all airlines but now I am going to look for different airline if I am travelling in asia.

The stewardess was very helpful all the way. My seat had an issue with headphones and after the replaced and gave me a new pair and noticed it was the seat I got a new chair to sit and a great ride back home

Flight got canceled without any prior information and it caused lot of trouble

Staff were friendly, and provided great service. The food was plentiful and delicious. Food could have been hotter.

I was traveling business purposes and I only had one carry on and a personal computer back pack . My carry on was 8.5 kg little more than allowable. At jfk airport check in they did not let me carry it . I was little disappointed.

More leg room and comfortable seats at least for long flights

The entertainment selections are amazing. But the live TV is sometimes spotty. If you’re going to have it, then have it. If you can’t make it consistent, then, perhaps it’s better not to have it. The crew are always cordial when approached, but they seem to do the minimum and sit around, talking to each other in the back of the plane during the flight. I realize that delays are not always predictable, but I missed my flight in Dubai because we left 90 minutes late from Washington. I will say that Emirates took very good care of me in Dubai. But I would rather not be delayed.

Probably the best flight I’ve ever been on. Emirates first class is leagues beyond British airways and Lufthansa’s.

Great flight. Comfortable seats, courteous service, and excellent selection for entertainment.

Serving food took so long . Almost time close to lend. Plus during landing air pressure in cabin cuss ear blocked took long time to unblock.

Emirates is usually on time, but not this trip. Also, during the flight the attendants disappear unless called upon. Very strange. I have watched the quality of Emirates service diminish over the last five years.

Food was not great. Crew members were created hassle with attitude at the gates and wasted my valuable time. I have been traveling in Emirates airlines many times. Over all not happy flying in Emirates airlines this time. Seats are very small and not comfortable. Seats looks like very very old and congested. It would be nice if they fix these kind of issues. I hope my next trip will be hassle free and comfortable journey in Emirates airlines. Thank you.

Operated by American Airlines. Very chaotic and the crew was bit rough responding any enquiries. Restricted leg space.. Qatar would have been better

Qatar airways from Doha to guangzhau was excellent big bird Boeing 777 more room and smoothly flight, I Love it

It was good no problems made it on time for the next flight overseas!

The made us waiting and held our passports and boarding pass making us miss our flights

Not impressed. Only allowed one carry on on such a long flight.

The flight was good but my neighbor had the vent open full power for the whole flight and because the air was blowing from the side instead of from the top and I got very cold and ended up with a sore throat.

Bad experience with the delay n long wait time for connecting flight after missing the connection flight from Doha.

Wore experience due to delay and took me 3 days to reach my destination.

All over with Qatar airlines my experience was really bad due to delays and then putting me on different airlines and after 8 hours of wait I had to listen to their is no plane to fly for another 24 hours. Wore experience ever.

Excellent will be flying again in May with Qatar. to Botswana.

I think the seats on some of their planes are uncomfortable. You can be ok on a short flight of two hours but no more than that. The delays, and also the refreshments on the plane were not enough.

Flight delayed over an over all day until it cancelled at 1:30am. Would not repeatedly delay that late. Offer hotel rooms and rebook early. Very difficult for families with small children

Not sure why JAL partnered with American Airlines because their service is no where near similar. Flight attendants were not friendly and didn’t smile. Food was horrible…

this is starting to seem like an american airlines standard. delayed flights and fake apologies… getting tired of it

Terrible boarding , Business class seats are sub standard. As usual crew will miss your food too

Just get Economy Plus for international flights, so worth it the extra room, bigger seats…

This flight is frequently delayed. The connections seemingly are more frequently delayed. I’ve missed connections as a result twice on the same route to charlotte then Charleston. Final destination arrival has been the next day, twice in a row. No pilots, no crew. Too many excuses. Unfortunately, my days with American are over.

Entertainment was okay not because anything was wrong but it is a short flight so having no wifi is annoying but understandable. Crew was outstanding as usual

It was spectacular. I had basic Economy and was given so much space and their seats lean back so far. Staff was superb, food was superb, everything was superb, Finnair is Fantastic.

Those seats were way too narrow. I had the middle seat, one person was a very skinny person and we still couldn’t avoid touching each other anytime one of us moved. The other person was larger and we were basically sitting in each others lap the entire flight. There was zero entertainment. The flight was long enough to justify tvs, but no. Gotta sit there in your infant seat and twiddle your thumbs.

Overall mediocre experience. Check in was good. They're were discriminatory. They were not attentive, food choices were not vegetarian friendly. The food served was frozen.

1st time with. Etihad Airways and it was amazing from check in to crew. Great flight.

One thing is very important is you people not giving seat arrangement together to couple, senior citizen. You have to take care of senior citizen. Do not look about money. Money is not important everywhere. Make relationship strong is very very important. I like Etiyad air line out of all air line. Food was hot and delicious. Air hostess gave very good service, nice attitude, very good behaviour. I gave 10 out of 10 marks. Thanks Jivraj

I WOULD ADVISE NOT TO BOOK YOUR FLIGHT ON KAYAK. THEY SHOW BETTER FARES AND AFTER I BOOKED MINE, I FIND OUT THAT IT DID NOT INCLUDE LUGGAGE. i HAD TO PAY $800 TO CHECK IN MY BAGS.

Entertainment did not work from flight from Abu Dhabi to Kolkata. Emirates has a much better flight in that sector.

Very unfriendly team. It was very difficult to get a cup of coffee. Legroom was extremely small. Old, dilapidated plane.

Ripped off and broken seats in Business class. Seats stink and need to request the staff for additional bedsheets. Crew if very friendly though

Food was very good. Again tray could use a non-skid mat. I had a regular seat - comfortable - able to sleep undisturbed. Boarding was uneventful.

Boarding was quick and efficient. Ground staff were pleasant and courteous. Food was tasty, portions were good for me. Food containers kept slipping on the tray. Tray would look better with an anti-skid tray mat. I had the bulkhead seat which was very uncomfortable for couple of reasons. Aircraft is designed with no throughput to move across aisle to aisle. Passengers kept jumping over my legs to get from one side to the other to use the toilet. Secondly I had a mother and 9 month baby next to me. Mom had to hold baby for 12 hours in her lap as he did not fit into the bassinet. Half the baby was on my lap during the flight. Aircraft temperature was very cold - light attendant said it was the central cooling and nothing could be done about it. Movie selection was very poor old and outdated.

Crew member took too long time to take back leftover food plates from passenger seats. Food was nice.Easy excellent checking.Guy at checking counter was really kind and helpful.Made our checking very quickly. Leftover food should be taken back ASAP. Because in economy class passanger have narrow space . In the long journey like this, passanger have difficulties to sit with the plates.overall experience was good.

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Recent round-trip flight deals

9/14Sat
1 stopTurkish Airlines
19h 30mJFK-CMB
9/30Mon
1 stopTurkish Airlines
31h 20mCMB-JFK
$965
10/7Mon
1 stopTurkish Airlines
19h 30mJFK-CMB
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31h 20mCMB-JFK
$972
9/17Tue
1 stopQatar Airways
20h 55mJFK-CMB
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31h 30mCMB-JFK
$994
9/22Sun
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22h 50mJFK-CMB
9/30Mon
1 stopQatar Airways
38h 55mCMB-JFK
$996
5/19Sun
1 stopAmerican Airlines
37h 15mIAD-CMB
6/8Sat
1 stopAmerican Airlines
30h 15mCMB-IAD
$1,040
10/21Mon
2 stopsAmerican Airlines
47h 06mIAD-CMB
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1 stopAmerican Airlines
39h 40mCMB-IAD
$1,047
9/20Fri
1 stopEtihad Airways
31h 45mIAD-CMB
9/28Sat
1 stopEtihad Airways
33h 45mCMB-IAD
$1,065
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1 stopEtihad Airways
25h 55mBOS-CMB
9/29Sun
1 stopEtihad Airways
26h 00mCMB-BOS
$1,093
9/17Tue
2 stopsSingapore Airlines
44h 27mIAD-CMB
9/22Sun
2 stopsSingapore Airlines
49h 13mCMB-IAD
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2 stopsSingapore Airlines
49h 13mCMB-IAD
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2 stops
50h 35mJFK-CMB
$453
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2 stopsAir India
33h 20mJFK-CMB
$465
5/9Thu
1 stopEtihad Airways
31h 20mJFK-CMB
$483
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26h 25mJFK-CMB
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5/1Wed
multi-stop
25h 40mJFK-CMB
5/29Wed
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40h 25mCMB-JFK
$957
4/29Mon
multi-stopSriLankan Airlines
28h 55mJFK-CMB
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33h 46mCMB-JFK
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multi-stopQatar Airways
22h 10mCMB-JFK
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multi-stopAmerican Airlines
37h 20mJFK-CMB
5/28Tue
multi-stopAmerican Airlines
28h 13mCMB-JFK
$1,079
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multi-stopAmerican Airlines
25h 36mLGA-CMB
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multi-stopAmerican Airlines
29h 32mCMB-LGA
$1,081
4/29Mon
multi-stopEtihad Airways
28h 35mBOS-CMB
5/28Tue
multi-stopEtihad Airways
37h 50mCMB-BOS
$1,149
4/29Mon
multi-stopEtihad Airways
28h 35mBOS-CMB
5/26Sun
multi-stopEtihad Airways
37h 50mCMB-BOS
$1,155
4/30Tue
multi-stopSingapore Airlines
35h 45mLAX-CMB
5/8Wed
multi-stopSingapore Airlines
33h 20mCMB-LAX
$1,414
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44h 45mLAX-CMB
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33h 20mCMB-LAX
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