Jetstar commenced direct low-fare flights between Colombo, Sri Lanka, and Melbourne, Australia, on 25 August 2026. The inaugural flight arrived at Bandaranaike International Airport the same evening. The airline operates three weekly flights year-round on the Colombo to Melbourne route, providing more than 100,000 low-cost seats annually.
One-way fares for the Colombo to Melbourne route start at LKR 67770. Promotional sale pricing was available from 7:30 AM IST on 25 August 2026 until 9:29 PM on 31 August 2026. Jetstar uses its widebody Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft for this service.
Jetstar is upgrading its Boeing 787 fleet with new cabins
that double business class seat numbers and add Wi-Fi connectivity. A new lie-flat crew rest area on these aircraft extends their flight duration capability up to 16 hours, allowing for future long-haul operations.
Before this route opened, travellers between Sri Lanka and Australia had to connect through a third country at higher costs. The new three-weekly widebody services maintain year-round capacity, including off-peak periods, addressing a long-standing gap. This direct connection also supports Sri Lanka’s tourism sector by increasing consistent inbound flight availability.
The Colombo to Melbourne route improves affordable access for Sri Lankans visiting family in Victoria, which hosts
Australia’s largest Sri Lankan community. Via Jetstar’s Australian domestic network, passengers can connect onward with just one stop to destinations such as Sydney, Brisbane, the Gold Coast, Tasmania, Auckland, and Queenstown.
A Jetstar spokesperson said, “We’ve already seen strong demand for flights, and Victoria is home to Australia’s largest Sri Lankan community, so we’re expecting the route to be popular with holidaymakers and those visiting family and friends. We’re looking forward to becoming a familiar sight at Bandaranaike.” Shano Sabar, Deputy Managing Director of Hayleys Advantis, Jetstar’s General Sales Agent in Sri Lanka, added, “Until now, travelling between Colombo and
Australia has meant connecting through a third country at a higher cost. Three weekly widebody services on a year-round schedule change that, with capacity that holds through the off season rather than only at peak. For Sri Lankans, this is affordable access to family in Victoria and, through Jetstar’s domestic network, onward to Sydney, Brisbane, the Gold Coast, Tasmania, Auckland and Queenstown on a single connection. For Sri Lanka, it opens a large outbound leisure market at a point when the tourism sector needs consistent inbound capacity.”
