Sri Lanka’s main international gateway, Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA), is rolling out an additional twenty self-check-in kiosks to streamline passenger services ahead of the busy winter travel season.

The upgrade, led by ground handling provider SriLankan Airlines’ Airport and Ground Services, brings the total number of self-service machines at the departure terminal to twenty-eight.

The move is designed to enhance efficiency and improve the overall passenger experience, particularly as the airport anticipates an influx of over three hundred thousand tourists in December alone.

Since its launch in 2023, the self-check-in facility has seen strong adoption, currently utilised by 15% of SriLankan Airlines' outbound passengers.

The kiosks allow travellers to bypass traditional queues, independently select seats, print boarding passes, and generate baggage tags.

Deepal Pallegangoda, Head of Airport and Ground Services of SriLankan Airlines, stated that the enhanced digital facilities will aid the airport’s efforts to increase capacity.

He also announced that Singapore Airlines is set to become the first foreign carrier to implement the self-check-in kiosk system for its passengers departing from Colombo.

The expansion comes as BIA operates near its current capacity of approximately nine to ten million passengers per annum.

In the first nine months of 2025, the airport recorded more than eight point one million passengers, highlighting the rebound in the country’s aviation and tourism sectors.

Further terminal expansion is underway, to increase capacity to fifteen million passengers per year by 2027 or 2028.