CMB to LHR flight delays
235 flights · January 2025 – August 2026 · UK Civil Aviation Authority
79.49%
Arrived on time
Within 15 minutes of schedule
0.43%
Cancelled
Share of scheduled flights
—
When late, late by
Average across delayed arrivals
10 min
Delay per flight
Averaged over every flight flown
What the record says about this route
The season swings this route hard. In March it ran 28.2 points more punctual than in June — a difference bigger than the one between the best and worst airlines on most routes. If the date is flexible, it is worth more than the carrier.
The two directions do not behave alike. LHR to CMB arrives on time 14.7 points less often than the outbound. Delay accumulates through the flying day, so whichever direction is scheduled later tends to carry the worse record — which is an argument for booking the morning departure if the choice exists.
The route has been getting worse. The later months run 10.5 points less punctual than the earlier ones. A drift of that size is rarely weather; it is more often an airline adding frequencies faster than the airports can absorb them.
Only SriLankan Airlines flies this route in the published record, so there is no choice to weigh — the route's figures and the airline's are the same figures.
Which airline should you fly on this route?
Over January 2025 – August 2026, SriLankan Airlines arrived on time most often on CMB to LHR. Flights ran closest to schedule in March and worst in June.
Every airline on CMB to LHR
Ranked by how many flights each one operated. A carrier with fewer than 100 flights in the period is listed but not graded.
| Airline | Flights | On time | Cancelled | Avg delay | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SriLankan Airlines | 235 | 79.49% | 0.43% | — | C |
Month by month
Share of flights that arrived within 15 minutes of schedule, by month flown.
The return leg
LHR to CMB London back to Colombo 64.81% on time FCommon questions
Are flights from Colombo to London usually delayed?
79.49% of flights on the CMB to LHR route arrived within 15 minutes of schedule, so roughly 2 in every ten arrived late. That is about the same as the average route in this record.
Which airlines fly from Colombo to London?
Only SriLankan Airlines appears in the published record on this route, with 235 flights and 79.49% arriving on time.
How often are CMB to LHR flights cancelled?
0.43% of scheduled flights did not operate — about 4 in every thousand. That is in the normal range.
What is the best month to fly Colombo to London?
March, when 94.9% of flights arrived on time. The worst was June at 66.7%.
What these figures do and do not tell you
Everything on this page is counted from the flights that actually operated on CMB to LHR during January 2025 – August 2026, as reported by the airlines to the US Bureau of Transportation Statistics. "On time" is the federal definition: arriving at the gate within 15 minutes of the scheduled time.
A route's record is a description of the past, not a forecast. Weather, air traffic control and the aircraft's earlier flights that day drive most delays, and none of them are predictable from a historical rate. What the record does tell you is whether this route runs late more often than others, and which carrier on it has the better history — which is the part you can actually act on when you book.
Cancellations are counted separately from delays because they are a different problem for a traveller: a late flight still gets you there. How the grade is calculated →