Cox's Bazar International Airport

Last updated

Cox's Bazar International Airport
কক্সবাজার আন্তর্জাতিক বিমানবন্দর
Cox's Bazar Airport.jpg
Summary
Airport typePublic
OwnerPeople's Republic of Bangladesh
Operator Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh
Serves Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh
Elevation  AMSL 12 ft / 4 m
Coordinates 21°27′07″N091°57′50″E / 21.45194°N 91.96389°E / 21.45194; 91.96389
Website www.caab.gov.bd
Map
Bangladesh adm location map.svg
Airplane silhouette.svg
CXB
Location of airport in Bangladesh
Runways
Direction LengthSurface
ftm
17/3510,7003,200 Asphalt
Statistics (December 2024)
Passengers48,719 Increase2.svg
Source: [1]

Cox's Bazar International Airport [2] ( IATA : CXB, ICAO : VGCB) is an international airport in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh. The airport serves the residents of Cox's Bazar as well as tourists to the region. It became the country's fourth international airport on 13 October 2025. [3] [4] [5] Currently, the airport is undergoing an expansion to be upgraded to an international airport. [6]

Contents

History

President of Indonesia Joko Widodo being welcomed at the Cox's Bazar Airport, 28 January 2018 Joko Widodo greets Md Ali Hossain, Coxs Bazar, 2018-01-28 (PID-0045936).jpg
President of Indonesia Joko Widodo being welcomed at the Cox's Bazar Airport, 28 January 2018
Secretary-General of the United Nations Antonio Guterres and Chief Adviser of the interim government of Bangladesh Muhammad Yunus arrives at Cox's Bazar Airport, 14 March 2025 Muhammad Yunus And Antonio Guterres At Cox's Bazar Airport Visiting Rohingya Camps 2025-03-14 (PID-0002952).jpg
Secretary-General of the United Nations António Guterres and Chief Adviser of the interim government of Bangladesh Muhammad Yunus arrives at Cox's Bazar Airport, 14 March 2025

During World War II, the British Raj established an airfield near Cox's Bazar. It was converted into a domestic airport by the central government of Pakistan in 1956, seven years after the city was incorporated into the Pakistani province of East Bengal (later East Pakistan). [7] The airport was damaged during the Bangladesh Liberation War and was renovated and reopened in 1972. [8] According to civil aviation sources, in 2009, the government had planned to rapidly modernise the airport to accommodate fighter jets, if required. [9]

Expansion and development

Plans to upgrade Cox's Bazar Airport into an international facility began in 2012. [10] [11] [12] The development is being carried out in two phases, intended to improve aircraft handling capacity and accommodate wide-body planes. The upgrade's initial cost was ৳3 billion (US$25 million). [13]

In the initial stage of construction, the runway was extended "6,775 feet to 9,000 feet in length and from 120 feet to 200 feet in width". [14] Additionally, its load-bearing strength and lighting systems were upgraded, and "Doppler VHF Omni-direction Range and distance measurement equipment" were installed. [15] Fueling services, under the operation of Standard Asiatic Oil Company Limited, a subsidiary of Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation, began in February 2017. [16] [ better source needed ]

New international terminal under construction, 2023 Cox's Bazar Airport 05.jpg
New international terminal under construction, 2023

The second phase of expansion involves adding another 1,700 feet to the runway. [14] "Officials said a 1,300-foot stretch of the runway's expanded portion would be under the sea"; construction will add "blocks in the sea" which is the first time this technique will be used in Bangladesh. [14]

On 13 October 2025, the Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism issued a notification declaring the airport as an international airport. [3]

Airlines and destinations

Passenger

AirlinesDestinationsRefs.
Air Astra Dhaka [17]
Biman Bangladesh Airlines Chattogram, Dhaka, Saidpur, [18] Sylhet [19] , Kolkata [20] [21]
Novoair Dhaka, Jashore, [22] Rajshahi [23]
US-Bangla Airlines Dhaka, Jashore [24] [25]

Cargo

AirlinesDestinationsRefs.
Easy Fly Express Dhaka, Jashore [26]
SkyAir Chittagong, Dhaka, Jashore, Sylhet [27]

Incidents and accidents

Antonov An-26 cargo aircraft on the airport runway, 2011 Cox's Bazar Airport Shevelev-1.jpg
Antonov An-26 cargo aircraft on the airport runway, 2011

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Bangladesh Air Traffic Movement: Passenger: Aerodrome: Cox's Bazar" . Retrieved 10 January 2020.
  2. ↑ "CAAB - Home". ops.caab.gov.bd. Retrieved 21 April 2025.
  3. 1 2 "কক্সবাজার বিমানবন্দরকে আন্তর্জাতিক বিমানবন্দর ঘোষণা". Dhaka Post (in Bengali). 13 October 2025.
  4. ↑ কক্সবাজার বিমানবন্দর আন্তর্জাতিক হচ্ছে, তবে নেই কোনো এয়ারলাইন. The Business Standard (in Bengali). 2 September 2025. Retrieved 3 September 2025.
  5. ↑ "Cox's Bazar Airport declared international". The Business Standard. 13 October 2025. Retrieved 13 October 2025.
  6. ↑ "International flights from Cox's Bazar Airport may begin in October, says CAAB chief". The Financial Express. 17 August 2025. Retrieved 17 August 2025.
  7. ↑ Barua, Sunil (3 August 2023). সাগরজলে দেশের দীর্ঘতম রানওয়ে চালু হচ্ছে ডিসেম্বরে. Banglanews24.com (in Bengali). Retrieved 25 August 2023.
  8. ↑ ২০২৪ সালের জুনে আন্তর্জাতিক ফ্লাইট ওঠানামা করবে কক্সবাজার বিমানবন্দরে. Cox's Bangla (in Bengali). 7 August 2023. Retrieved 25 August 2023.
  9. ↑ "PM wants fighter base at Cox's Bazar: report". bdnews24.com. 6 September 2009. Retrieved 2 October 2014.
  10. ↑ "'Cox's Bazar Airport to be made international one'". The Daily Star. 4 March 2012. Archived from the original on 22 December 2015. Retrieved 11 April 2012.
  11. ↑ "Cox's Bazar International airport to be upgraded: Minister". The Daily Star. 26 March 2012. Archived from the original on 11 June 2015. Retrieved 11 April 2012.
  12. ↑ "Expansion work of Cox's Bazar International airport to start this year: Minister". The Financial Express. Dhaka. 25 March 2012. Retrieved 11 April 2012.
  13. ↑ "Steps taken to upgrade Cox's Bazar International Airport". The News Today. 25 April 2012. Archived from the original on 8 September 2012. Retrieved 11 April 2012.
  14. 1 2 3 "PM to open Cox's Bazar Airport runway expansion project Sunday". The Business Standard. 27 August 2021. Retrieved 13 April 2023.
  15. ↑ "$200m Chinese loan for Cox's Bazar International Airport dev". The Financial Express. Dhaka. 26 October 2012. Archived from the original on 28 October 2012. Retrieved 11 April 2012.
  16. ↑ "Aviation Refueling at Cox Bazar Airport" (Press release). Standard Asiatic Oil Company Limited. February 2017. Archived from the original on 28 July 2018. Retrieved 14 September 2025.
  17. ↑ "Air Astra kicks off domestic flights today". The Business Standard. Retrieved 6 December 2022.
  18. ↑ "Biman flights on Saidpur-Cox's Bazar route start 7 Oct". The Business Standard. 28 September 2021. Retrieved 29 September 2021.
  19. ↑ "Biman to launch Sylhet-Cox's Bazar flight from Nov 12". 12 November 2020.
  20. ↑ https://bangla.bdnews24.com/business/d0806882cc87
  21. ↑ "Flight Schedule -Biman Bangladesh". www.biman-airlines.com. Retrieved 11 January 2020.
  22. ↑ "Novoair starts direct flights between Jessore and Cox's Bazar". Dhaka Tribune. 30 November 2022. Retrieved 12 December 2022.
  23. ↑ চট্টগ্রাম ও বরিশালে ফ্লাইট বাড়াল নভোএয়ার. Prothom Alo (in Bengali). 29 December 2019. Retrieved 29 December 2019.
  24. ↑ "US-Bangla to add more domestic flights on new routes". The Business Standard. 22 September 2021. Retrieved 29 September 2021.
  25. ↑ সৈয়দপুর, রাজশাহী ও বরিশালে ইউএস বাংলার অতিরিক্ত ফ্লাইট. Prothom Alo (in Bengali). 4 December 2019. Retrieved 11 December 2019.
  26. ↑ "Easy Fly Express routes". Easy Fly Express.
  27. ↑ "Sky Capital Cargo destinations". Skycapitalcargo.com.
  28. ↑ "Russian pilot dead as cargo plane crashes into sea in Bangladesh". Xinhua. 9 March 2016. Archived from the original on 10 March 2016. Retrieved 25 January 2020.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.