Question 1

How long does it take to ship a container from Colombo to London by sea?

Accepted Answer

The shortest shipping time by sea between Colombo and London is 23 days 13h. Ships depart from Colombo (LKCMB) and arrive at Southampton (GBSOU) with scheduled departures Every 1-2 weeks.

Question 2

How regularly do container ships travel between Colombo and London?

Accepted Answer

There are scheduled container ships that depart every 1-2 weeks from Colombo (LKCMB) and arrive into Southampton (GBSOU) around 23 days 13h later. These services are operated by CMA CGM, ONE, CMA CGM, MSC, Yang Ming, Evergreen, CMA CGM, COSCO, MSC, Evergreen, Yang Ming, ONE, OOCL, CMA CGM, Hapag-Lloyd, HMM, Hapag-Lloyd, Evergreen and CMA CGM.

Question 3

How long does it take to send cargo from Colombo to London by air freight?

Accepted Answer

The quickest flight from Colombo to London takes around 11h 20m. Flights depart from Bandaranaike International Colombo Airport (CMB) and arrive at London Heathrow Airport (LHR).

Question 4

How often do planes fly between Colombo and London?

Accepted Answer

Scheduled flights between Bandaranaike International Colombo Airport (CMB) and London Heathrow Airport (LHR) depart every 1-2 days. These flights are serviced by SriLankan Airlines, Qatar Airways, Etihad Airways, Kuwait Airways, Emirates, Turkish Airlines, Air India, IndiGo, Gulf Air, Air India, IndiGo and Thai Airways and the typical transit time is around 11h 20m.

Question 5

Do dedicated cargo planes (freighters) fly between Colombo and London?

Accepted Answer

Yes there are dedicated cargo planes that fly regular scheduled services between Colombo and London. Cargo flights depart from Bandaranaike International Colombo Airport (CMB) and arrive at London Stansted Airport (STN) with departures 1-2 times a day and a average flight time of around 17h 36m. Turkish Airlines operates  on this route.

Question 6

What is the distance between Colombo to London by ship?

Accepted Answer

The distance between Colombo and London by cargo ship is 12,428 Nautical Miles (23,016 Kilometres / 14,302 Miles). This distance is measured by sea between Colombo (LKCMB) and Tilbury (GBTIL).

Question 7

What is the distance between Colombo to London by air?

Accepted Answer

The distance between Colombo and London by air is around 8,725 Kilometres (5,422 Miles). This distance is measured following typical flight paths between Bandaranaike International Colombo Airport (CMB) and London Heathrow Airport (LHR).

Question 8

How much CO2 is produced when transporting a shipping container from Colombo to London by sea?

Accepted Answer

1.71t CO₂e (per TEU) is the estimated emissions output (CO2e) when transporting a typical shipping container (1 TEU) from Colombo to London. This is calculated using the overall historical emissions of the average container ship on this trade lane and dividing it by the total projected capacity.

Question 9

How much CO2 is produced when sending cargo by air from Colombo to London?

Accepted Answer

639kg CO₂e (per 100kg) is the estimated emissions output (CO2e) when sending cargo by air from Colombo to London. This is calculated by determining the total fuel burn output of various aircraft that typically fly this route and dividing it by the total available cargo capacity in KGs.

Operating carriers	Departure frequency	Aircraft types
SriLankan Airlines	Every 1-2 days	Airbus A330-300
Qatar Airways	Every few hours	Boeing 787-8+5 others
Etihad Airways	Daily	Airbus A321+4 others
Kuwait Airways	Every 1-2 days	Airbus A320neo+1 others
Emirates	2-4 times a day	Airbus A350-900+2 others
Turkish Airlines	1-2 times a day	Airbus A330-300+5 others
Air India	Every 1-2 days	Airbus A320neo+3 others
IndiGo	Every 1-2 days	Airbus A320neo+1 others
Gulf Air	Every 1-2 days	Airbus A321neo+1 others
Air India	1-2 times a day	Airbus A320neo+3 others
IndiGo	Every 1-2 days	Boeing 787-9
Thai Airways	Every 1-2 days	Airbus A320+1 others

More Details	See carrier information, flight schedules and estimated emissions

Operating carriers	Departure frequency	Aircraft types
Turkish AirlinesFreighter	1-2 times a day	Airbus A330-300+7 others
More Details	See carrier information, flight schedules and estimated emissions

Service Lines	Service Type	Departure frequency	Servicing Carriers
EPIC / EPIC3 / IP1	Direct	Every 1-2 weeks	CMA CGM, COSCO, OOCL
INX / IOX / ISE	Direct	Every 1-2 weeks	ONE, HMM, Yang Ming
MEDEX / MINA / WM3 → EPIC / EPIC3 / IP1	Transshipment	Every 1-2 weeks	CMA CGM, COSCO, OOCL
Ingwe → Griffin	Transshipment	Every 1-2 weeks	MSC
SA5 → FP2	Transshipment	Every 1-2 weeks	Yang Ming
FAL6 / AEU5 / CEM / LL6 → FAL1 / AEU2 / LL4	Transshipment	Every 1-2 weeks	Evergreen, CMA CGM, COSCO, OOCL
SEAS2 / ESA2 / ESA3 / TLA2 → FAL1 / AEU2 / LL4	Transshipment	Every 1-2 weeks	CMA CGM, COSCO, Evergreen, OOCL
AS6 / CI1 / CIX1 → FAL1 / AEU2 / LL4	Transshipment	Every 1-2 weeks	COSCO, OOCL, CMA CGM
Britannia → Griffin	Transshipment	Every 2-4 weeks	MSC
CIX2 → FAL1	Transshipment	Every 2-4 weeks	Evergreen
CPX → FP2	Transshipment	Every 1-2 weeks	Yang Ming
NCI → FP2	Transshipment	Every 2-4 weeks	ONE
CPX → LL4	Transshipment	1-2 times a week	OOCL
FAL6 → OCR	Transshipment	Every 1-2 weeks	CMA CGM
US4 / TP16 → AL3 / TA2	Transshipment	Every 1-2 weeks	Hapag-Lloyd, Maersk
AGI → FP2	Transshipment	Every 1-2 weeks	HMM
AA7 → AL3	Transshipment	1-2 times a week	Hapag-Lloyd
C3MAPL / AGI → FAL1 / AEU2	Transshipment	Every 1-2 weeks	Evergreen, CMA CGM, COSCO
INDAMEX / IPE / IEX → LIBERTY / TAE / ATE1	Transshipment	Every 1-2 weeks	CMA CGM, COSCO, OOCL

More Details	See carrier information, sailing schedules and estimated emissions

Service Lines	Service Type	Departure frequency	Servicing Carriers
NEWMO → SCUK	Transshipment	Every 1-2 weeks	CMA CGM
NEWMO → PGE	Transshipment	Every 1-2 weeks	CMA CGM
NEWMO → BALT2	Transshipment	Every 1-2 weeks	CMA CGM
FAL6 → SCUK	Transshipment	Every 1-2 weeks	CMA CGM
FAL8 → HLX	Transshipment	Every 1-2 weeks	CMA CGM
FAL6 → PGE	Transshipment	Every 1-2 weeks	CMA CGM
EPIC → EURAF1	Transshipment	Every 1-2 weeks	CMA CGM
FAL8 → SCUK	Transshipment	1-2 times a week	CMA CGM
FAL6 → BALT2	Transshipment	Every 1-2 weeks	CMA CGM
FAL8 → PGE	Transshipment	Every 1-2 weeks	CMA CGM
FAL8 → BALT2	Transshipment	Every 1-2 weeks	CMA CGM

More Details	See carrier information, sailing schedules and estimated emissions

Service Lines	Service Type	Departure frequency	Servicing Carriers
NEWMO / AES	Direct	Every 1-2 weeks	CMA CGM, MSC, ANL, APL
IEX / ME2	Direct	Every 1-2 weeks	Maersk, Hapag-Lloyd
IEX / ME2 → SAX / SAECS	Transshipment	Every 1-2 weeks	Maersk, Hapag-Lloyd
MSC - IPAK \| SCI - IPAK \| WEC - NWC-KAP/DJI → SWX	Transshipment	Every 1-2 weeks	Hapag-Lloyd
FAL6 / AEU5 / LL6 → WCC / EWX	Transshipment	Every 1-2 weeks	CMA CGM, COSCO, OOCL
FAL6 → NEFGUI	Transshipment	Every 1-2 weeks	CMA CGM
IPAK → Lion	Transshipment	Every 1-2 weeks	MSC
MIAX / AIM → SAX / SRX	Transshipment	Every 2-4 weeks	ONE, Hapag-Lloyd

More Details	See carrier information, sailing schedules and estimated emissions

Colombo to London By Air freight, Container ship or Road

Colombo to London by Air freight

Quickest air route

Bandaranaike International Colombo Airport to London Heathrow Airport

Cargo flights

Bandaranaike International Colombo Airport to London Stansted Airport

Colombo to London by Container ship

Quickest ocean route

Colombo to Southampton

Closest seaports

Colombo to Tilbury

Most frequent

Colombo to London Gateway Port

Compare shipping modes

Air Freight

Container Ship

About Fluent Cargo

More about shipping cargo and freight from Colombo to London by Air, Ocean and Road

Shipping from Colombo

Shipping to London