COLOMBO, Feb. 18 (Xinhua) -- Airport and Aviation Services (Sri Lanka) (Private) Limited (AASL), Sri Lanka's state-owned civil airport management company, recorded the highest-ever monthly passenger traffic in January 2026, handling 1,045,097 passenger movements across Sri Lanka's airports, the company said.
The figure surpassed the previous monthly record of 1,034,687 passengers registered in January 2018.
Tourism arrivals have also continued to increase in early 2026, according to data released by the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA). A total of 159,339 tourists arrived in the country during the first 15 days of February. In February 2025, Sri Lanka recorded a total of 240,217 tourist arrivals.
With the latest February figures, total tourist arrivals for 2026 have reached 436,666, the SLTDA said. Of that number, 78,157 visitors were from India, 47,347 from the United Kingdom and 39,741 from Russia. ■
