Move to expand domestic air connectivity

The government is planning to link the whole country through expanding air connectivity considering the continuous economic growth and people’s increasing interest in travelling by air.

“We are thinking of expanding domestic air connectivity to facilitate the rising economic activities and promote tourism. Therefore, we will work to reactivate a total of six abandoned airports,” State Minister for Civil Aviation and Tourism Md Mahbub Ali said.

He said the six abandoned airports, which are likely to be reopened initially, are Bogura, Lalmonirhat, Ishwardi, Shamshernagar, Cumilla and Thakurgaon airports.

Besides, construction of international airports at Patuakhali’s Payra and Bagerhat’s Rampal are on the cards.

Mahbub Ali said regardless of the distance, the airlines are also showing interest in operating flights to new destinations, even with small aircraft.

“Many airports are lying unused, which can be called STOL airports. These airports are now required for short landings,” the state minister said, adding that measures are being taken gradually to modernise all airports to increase the travel facilities of people and ensure economic benefits.

According to Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB) plan 2030, there are 28 airports across the country that have 3,000 to 3,500 feet of runway.

CAAB can gradually increase the length of runways from 6,000 to 8,000 feet and the PCN (Pavement Classification Number) of the runway from 30 to 60 feet. Then, it will be possible to start flight operations with small passenger aircraft of ATR or DAS-8 Q400 model, said aviation experts.

Two conditions which need to be met for a commercially successful airport are adequate passengers and necessary infrastructure for aircraft movement.

The 6 regional airports outside Dhaka targeted for operation have sufficient passenger demand but due to the lack of infrastructure, these airports are closed for commercial operations.

General Manager (public relations) of the US-Bangla Airlines, Kamrul Islam, said the number of passengers on Dhaka-Cox’s Bazar or Dhaka-Chattogram route and Dhaka-Ishwardi or Dhaka-Cumilla will never be the same, but there will be business for airlines there.

“Such small airports exist in all countries of the world. Airlines operate small aircrafts there. You need to have proper infrastructure, business assessment and execution plan to be successful in such case,” he said.

Sources at the CAAB said cows and goats roam freely on the runways of many of these airports. Some airports do not have any sort of security posts with boundary walls around them.

Runways are not even visible due to wild grass. The PCN of the runway has lost its strength due to long abandonment. And pieces of the runway have fallen and the blocks have broken in some places due to non-renovation and accumulation of water.

CAAB Chairman Air Vice Marshal M Mafidur Rahman said they need to free the abandoned airports from occupation and take steps to ensure security of these places.

“We are inspecting the STOL airports which are occupied by others. We will bring those under the civil aviation authority and reopen after evaluating passengers’ demand,” he said.

“Now, our priority is to upgrade the existing domestic airports of the country and increase the quality of service,” the CAAB chairman said, adding that once the work of the third terminal at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka is completed, they will think of reopening of the abandoned airports.

Apart from three international airports (Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka, Shah Amanat International Airport in Chattogram and Osmani International Airport in Sylhet), domestic flights are now operated from and to Cox’s Bazar, Rajshahi, Jashore, Syedpur and Barishal airports.