01
Wide-body & private jet
From a light jet to a full 777, one caterer, one standard
Aviation catering — Colombo, Sri Lanka
Colombo (VCBI / CMB): airline catering, VIP flight catering and private jet catering
CMB (IATA) · VCBI (ICAO)
A 3350 m runway at Colombo brings wide-body movements onto a single wide-body reference code, and every one of them boards from a hi-loader rather than at the foot of the aircraft. Inflight catering here runs on that access: in-flight catering reaches the galley door directly, and the same uplift plans a scheduled rotation, a state movement and a private jet on one ops desk.
3,350 m
Longest runway
Wide-body
Largest aircraft handled
1
Runways
02
VIP at any volume
8 First covers or 400 passengers across three cabins, same execution
03
24/7 order desk
Ad hoc, AOG and same-day uplift answered around the clock
04
Multi-leg coordination
One loading sheet, every leg of your rotation
On the apron — Colombo
Hi-loader aviation catering on the VCBI apron
Everything below is what we measure at this station — distances, windows, who signs what.
Aircraft catering lead times at VCBI / CMB
Flight catering sealed and logged to the stand at Colombo (CMB)
Boarding at Colombo runs on ramp access held under our own badges, not on a delivery left at the aircraft steps. Provisioning moves as a sealed cart from the kitchen through the apron checkpoint to the galley door, with each catering uplift logged at the point it leaves and again at the point it is signed for. The sequence is fixed so that a wide-body rotation and a smaller movement are worked the same way, cart by cart.
Between the kitchen and the stand at Colombo sit screening, an escort onto the apron and the ordinary traffic of a working ramp, and none of it is left to chance on a catering uplift. We plan the convoy against the worst of those delays rather than the average of them, because a late clearance costs more than a slow one. Chain of custody runs on a sealed cart from the moment it leaves the galley catering line, with a temperature log opened at sealing and closed again at handover, and a signature at the aircraft that closes the load against the loading sheet.
One seal at the kitchen, one signature at the aircraft, nothing in between.
Airline food supplier kitchen serving Colombo
Pilot meals and cleared production crews for Colombo, Sri Lanka
The flight kitchen provisioning Colombo runs hot production, pastry, a cold larder and a protocol line under one roof, built to HACCP standard from intake to load-out. Airport catering here is organised around that single site rather than split across several units, so tray sets, passenger meal boxes and sealed carts for every cabin leave from the same cold chain. Airport catering at VCBI is therefore a matter of one kitchen holding one standard, not several kitchens holding several.
The team that handles government flight catering at Colombo is the same named crew on every rotation, not a rotating pool assigned by shift. Security clearance is held on file, access is limited to a named list, and the crew is trained to royal household service standards and to the paperwork that has to travel with a sealed uplift. That continuity is what a protocol officer checks first, and it is fixed here rather than assembled per movement.
VIP flight catering and dietary sets at CMB
VVIP catering written per mission at VCBI / CMB
Menus at Colombo are written to the cabin and the mission rather than to a single fixed set, so a scheduled rotation, a charter flight menu and a VIP flight menu draw on the same kitchen without sharing a tray. Local sourcing follows what the island supplies in season — fish, orchard fruit, dairy and spice — worked into a specification rather than a fixed dish list. Special meals, allergen sets, halal and kosher requirements are documented per passenger and per cabin, produced on a line separate from the main run. Inflight catering at VCBI is planned this way from the outset, not adjusted after the fact.
First & VVIP cabins
First and VVIP cabins at Colombo are plated to a written specification rather than to a fixed menu card, with caviar and à-la-carte service available on request. VIP flight catering at VCBI keeps that specification on file between movements, so presentation stays consistent from one rotation to the next.
Business cabins
Business cabins at CMB run on multi-choice hot service in oven-ready, galley-ready tray sets sized to the aircraft fitted for the rotation. Cabin crew meals and pilot meals are boxed separately to the roster, and crew meals travel on the same sealed load as the passenger service.
Protocol & dietary
Protocol and dietary requirements at Colombo are documented per passenger rather than left to a general note, covering halal, kosher, vegan and gluten-free sets against the IATA special meal codes. Inflight catering for these sets is produced on a separate line and sealed before it leaves the kitchen for the stand.
The three books
01
Royal & Government Flights
Royal households · government · state operations
- Plated service · First to main cabin
- Protocol handling · security clearance
02
Charter & Commercial
Charter · ACMI · group · scheduled · ad hoc
- 400 passengers · one uplift
- HACCP cold chain, logged to the galley door
03
Private Jet
Business jet · VVIP charter · flight departments
- From 8 covers · plated forward
- Reheat sequence specified per dish
Compliance
HACCP control for flight catering at VCBI
HACCP
HACCP cold chain
Produced in our own certified kitchens, temperature logged end to end.
Clearance
Cleared personnel
Security-cleared staff, badged airside vehicles, escorted where the stand requires it.
Custody
Sealed chain of custody
Carts sealed at the kitchen, seals verified and handovers signed at the aircraft.
Allergens
Documented allergen sets
Allergen, halal, kosher and medical requirements documented per uplift and per passenger.
Aircraft catering delivered airside at Colombo airport
Colombo carries scheduled, charter and government traffic across a single wide-body reference code, which turns every uplift into a documentation and sequencing exercise rather than a volume one: a delegation needs its protocol file matched to the manifest, a charter wave needs its tray counts held against one loading sheet, and a repeat rotation needs the same specification to reappear cart for cart. Airline catering and aviation catering both run off that single stand, so the ops desk sequences by aircraft turnaround rather than by cabin class.
The uplift travels from our kitchen to the stand as a sealed cart, cleared through the apron checkpoint under an escort, and boarded by hi-loader directly to the galley door rather than staged at the foot of the aircraft. In-flight catering in Sri Lanka moves this way at every airport we serve, and airline catering in Sri Lanka is planned around the same ramp access rather than around a delivery dock. Airport catering at Colombo is worked stand by stand, with our own badges holding that access rather than a general pass.
One coordinator holds the rotation from seal to signature, and the load closes only against a signed handover at the aircraft.
Government, royal and charter flight catering at Colombo, Sri Lanka
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Government and state flight catering at Colombo
A 3350 m runway at Colombo takes a wide-body movement without a weight restriction on the load, which lets a full protocol uplift board rather than a reduced one. Government flight catering for state visits and official delegations runs from that same stand, with the file documented per passenger, security-cleared staff on the crew, and the uplift sealed before it leaves the kitchen — never naming the head of state travelling or the mission itself.
Government & state flights →
02
Royal and VVIP flight catering at Colombo
Our kitchen holds a wide-body specification on file for the aerodrome reference code Colombo is built to, which is what a private airliner — a BBJ, an ACJ or a wide-body VIP configuration — draws on for royal flight catering here. The royal household's dietary and service requirements are kept against that same specification between movements, with halal and other household needs produced on request rather than assembled from scratch each time.
Royal & VVIP flights →
03
Charter and ACMI flight catering at VCBI
Wide-body is the aerodrome reference code Colombo is built to, and it lets a full three-cabin charter board on one stand rather than split across two. Charter flight catering at Colombo serves ACMI and wet-lease operators, group movements and special missions, and charter flight catering in Sri Lanka is staged the same way at every field we cover, counted against the loading sheet as the galleys are laid out.
Wide-body charter →
04
Airline and ad hoc catering at Colombo
A single wide-body reference code at Colombo means every extra movement is sequenced against the same stand rather than spread across several, which is exactly the constraint ad hoc airline catering has to work around. Carriers running this station as an outstation draw on outstation catering, diversion catering and technical stop catering off one duty roster, AOG included, across a multi-leg rotation without a second kitchen to coordinate.
Commercial airlines →
05
Private jet and FBO catering at Colombo
A business jet arriving under the same wide-body reference code that governs Colombo's stand is worked from the GA terminal and the FBOs on the field rather than from a second kitchen. Private jet catering in Sri Lanka runs on that one cold chain: business aviation catering and FBO catering follow the same paperwork as an airline uplift, and business jet catering is delivered the same way, sealed cart to sealed cart.
Private jets →
Inflight catering trusted by operators at Colombo airport
Flight departments on jet catering at Colombo
Government flight department
Royal household
Charter operator
Scheduled airline
“Our sports movement through Colombo (CMB/VCBI) required tour operator charter catering on a tight schedule. Final numbers changed late and the team adjusted without making the process difficult. We would book them again for another team movement. Updates were timely and the final delivery matched the confirmation we had from operations.”
★★★★★Charter operator
Grace — Charter Account Manager
“We needed repatriation flight catering at Colombo (CMB/VCBI) for a time-sensitive operation. They kept the menu simple, respected the special requirements, and delivered exactly when the aircraft was ready to receive it. We appreciated the flexibility. Updates were timely and the final delivery matched the confirmation we had from operations.”
★★★★☆Charter operator
Romain — Flight Operations Supervisor
“We used the team at Colombo (CMB/VCBI) for cargo crew meals on a night operation. The crew received the correct quantities and the handover was quick, which is exactly what we needed. Good service for freighter crews and odd-hour schedules. The order was complete on arrival and easy for us to check before closing the doors.”
★★★★★Scheduled airline
Elena — Flight Support Manager
Airport catering facts for Colombo (VCBI / CMB)
| Datum | Value |
|---|---|
| Longest runway | 3,350 m |
| Runways | 1 |
| Aerodrome reference code | wide-body |
| ICAO | VCBI |
Inflight catering FAQ for Colombo, Sri Lanka
Diversion catering and ramp questions at CMB
What operations gets asked every week about Colombo.
Ask operations directly →Do you deliver airline catering airside at CMB?
Yes, by hi-loader boarding directly to the galley door rather than a delivery left at the foot of the aircraft, with airside delivery cleared under our own badges.
How do you handle VIP, VVIP and government flights at VCBI?
VCBI carries a documented protocol for VIP flight catering and government flight catering alike, with the file matched to the manifest and security clearance held on the crew before the seal is set.
Can you tell me what airline catering costs at Colombo?
Airline catering cost depends on cabin count, specification and the loading window booked for the rotation, since we do not publish a fixed price list; the ops desk returns a quotation once those are known.
When does an order need to be placed at Colombo airport?
When the rotation is confirmed is the usual trigger, though lead time varies by cabin count and mission; as soon as the aircraft type is fixed, specification changes can still be taken up to a defined cut-off, and how far in advance depends on whether it is a scheduled or an ad hoc, last minute airline catering request.
Commercial aviation catering near Colombo
RML / VCCC
Colombo
Sri Lanka · 40 km from Colombo
Airline & VIP flight catering →
ACJ / VCCA
Anuradhapura
Sri Lanka · 138 km from Colombo
Airline & VIP flight catering →
KCT / VCCK
Galle
Sri Lanka · 141 km from Colombo
Airline & VIP flight catering →
Inflight catering quote for Colombo
Request a quote
Send us your catering needs for CMB
Colombo (CMB / VCBI)
Give us the aircraft and what goes on board. A coordinator comes back with a quote for Colombo, not a brochure.
orders@aerogourmet.com · operations desk, 24/7
Four steps
Flight
Aircraft · stand · local time
Offloading
Return leg, if any
Order
Counts · menus · files
Contact
Who we come back to
Uplift at Colombo (CMB)