Jetstar's low-cost Melbourne–Colombo flights take off on 25 August
Three weekly 787 services — Jetstar's first South Asia route and the only low-cost nonstop between Australia and Sri Lanka.
Two weeks from now, Sri Lanka gets its first low-cost nonstop link to Australia: Jetstar launches Melbourne–Colombo on 25 August 2026, flying three times weekly on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays with Boeing 787 Dreamliners — the carrier's first-ever route into South Asia.
The schedule suits Sri Lankan travellers well: JQ6 departs Colombo at 7.50pm and arrives in Melbourne at 10.00am the next morning, while the inbound JQ5 leaves Melbourne at midday and lands in Colombo at 5.50pm. Launch fares were advertised from A$315 one-way, with Jetstar's usual pay-for-what-you-use model on bags and meals.
It adds real competition on a corridor that's been heating up all year — SriLankan Airlines' own plan to lift Colombo–Melbourne from 7 to 10 weekly flights has reportedly slipped to mid-November, but between the two carriers, Australia capacity is set to grow just in time for the year-end season. Watching fares for a Melbourne trip? This is the moment to compare.
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