Cox's Bazar International Airport কক্সবাজার বিমানবন্দর | |||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Summary | |||||||||||
Airport type | Public | ||||||||||
Owner | People'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 | ||||||||||
Website | www | ||||||||||
Map | |||||||||||
Runways | |||||||||||
| |||||||||||
Statistics (August 2022) | |||||||||||
| |||||||||||
Source: [1] |
Cox's Bazar International Airport( IATA : CXB, ICAO : VGCB) is an international airport in the resort town of Cox's Bazar in Bangladesh. It is in the process of being upgraded to an international airport. The airport serves the residents of Cox's Bazar as well as tourists to the region. [2] Cox's Bazar Airport is undergoing massive expansion, which is due to be completed by 2023. [3]
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). [4] The airport was damaged during the Bangladesh Liberation War and was renovated and reopened in 1972. [5] According to civil aviation sources, in 2009 the government had planned to rapidly modernize the airport to accommodate fighter jets, if required. [6]
Since 2012, plans to upgrade and expand the airport to allow international arrivals have been under way. [7] [8] Once completed, it will be the fourth international airport in Bangladesh. [9] The two phases of upgrading will let the airport provide better facilities for parking, landing, and take-off for wide-body aircraft such as the B777 or the A330. The first phase of the upgrade cost ৳6 billion (US$56 million). [10]
Under the first phase in 2012, the runway was lengthened from 6,775 feet to 9,000 feet and widened from 120 feet to 200 ft (61 m). [11] The runway's load capability was strengthened and the runway lighting also received an upgrade. Equipment such as instrument landing system, distance measuring equipment, AMeDAS, and VOR was installed. [12] Aircraft Refueling (JET A-1) facilities were available from February 2017 by Standard Asiatic Oil Company Limited, an enterprise of Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation. [13]
Under the second phase, the runway is being expanded by an additional 1,700 feet from its current 9,000 ft (2,700 m) by reclaiming land from the sea. An approximately 1,300-foot stretch of the runway's expanded portion would be over the sea. [14]
Airlines | Destinations | Refs. |
---|---|---|
Air Astra | Dhaka | [15] |
Biman Bangladesh Airlines | Chittagong, Dhaka, Saidpur, [16] Sylhet [17] | [18] |
Novoair | Dhaka, Jessore, [19] Rajshahi | [20] |
US-Bangla Airlines | Dhaka, Jessore [21] | [22] |
Airlines | Destinations | Refs. |
---|---|---|
Easy Fly Express | Dhaka, Jessore | [23] |
SkyAir | Chittagong, Dhaka, Jessore, Sylhet | [24] |
Biman Bangladesh Airlines commonly known as Biman, pronounced, is the national flag carrier of Bangladesh. With its main hub at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka, the airline also operates flights from its secondary hubs at Shah Amanat International Airport in Chittagong and as well as Osmani International Airport in Sylhet. The airline provides international passenger and cargo services to multiple destinations and has air service agreements in 42 countries. The headquarters of the airline, Balaka Bhaban, is located in Kurmitola, in the northern part of Dhaka. Annual Hajj flights, transporting tourists, migrants, and non-resident Bangladeshi workers and the activities of its subsidiaries form an integral part of the corporate business of the airline. Bangladesh's air transport sector, which is experiencing an 8% annual growth rate thanks to a large number of outbound tourists, domestic tourists, and non-resident Bangladeshi travelers, is very competitive with stiff competition among a number of private Bangladeshi airlines as well as Biman.
Sylhet is a metropolitan city located in the northeastern region of Bangladesh. It is the administrative center of Sylhet Division. It is situated on the banks of the Surma River. The city has a population of approximately 700,000 people, making it the fifth-largest city in Bangladesh.
Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport, , is the main international airport serving Dhaka City, the capital city of Bangladesh, and it is the largest airport in Bangladesh. It is located in Kurmitola, 17 km (11 mi) from the city centre, in the northern part of Dhaka. The airport is also used as a base of the Bangladesh Air Force. The airport has an area of 802 hectares. The Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB) operates and maintains the airport. It started operations in 1980, taking over from Tejgaon Airport as the principal international airport of the country. The airport was formerly known as Dacca International Airport and later as Zia International Airport, before being named in honour of Shah Jalal, who is one of the most respected Sufi saints of Bangladesh. The IATA code of the airport "DAC" is derived from "Dacca", which is the previously used spelling for "Dhaka".
Cox's Bazar is a city, fishing port, tourism centre, and district headquarters in southeastern Bangladesh. The iconic Cox's Bazar Beach, one of the most popular tourist attractions in Bangladesh, is the longest uninterrupted beach in the world. It is located 150 km (93 mi) south of the city of Chittagong. Cox's Bazar is also known by the name Panowa, which translates literally as "yellow flower." An old name was "Palongkee". Kutupalong refugee camp, the world's largest refugee camp, is in Cox's Bazar.
Shah Amanat International Airport, Chattogram is an international airport serving Bangladesh's southeastern port city of Chittagong. Operated and maintained by the Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh, it is the second-largest international airport in Bangladesh after Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka, Bangladesh. It is used by the Bangladesh Air Force as a part of 'BAF Zahurul Haq Base'. It was formerly known as MA Hannan International Airport, named after Awami League politician M. A. Hannan, but was renamed on 2 April 2005 by the Government of Bangladesh, after an 18th-century Islamic saint, Shah Amanat. It is capable of annually handling 1.5 million passengers and 6,000 tonnes of cargo. It also serves as a base for the Arirang Flying School.
Barishal Airport is a domestic airport located in the southern city of Barisal in Bangladesh. GMG Airlines, Royal Bengal Airlines and United Airways previously operated flights to Dhaka from this airport. In April 2015, the national carrier Biman Bangladesh Airlines resumed weekly flights after nine years.
Maharaja Bir Bikram Airport, also known as Agartala Airport, is an international airport situated 12 kilometres northwest of Agartala, the capital of Tripura. It is administered by the Airports Authority of India (AAI). It is the second busiest airport in North-East India after Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi Airport in Guwahati and 29th busiest airport in India. It is the third international airport in North-East India, after Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi Airport and Imphal Airport.
Osmani International Airport, Sylhet in Sylhet, is the third largest airport in Bangladesh after Dhaka and Chittagong. The airport is operated by the Civil Aviation Authority and is served by Biman Bangladesh Airlines, the national airline, which at one point earned most of its revenue from this airport. Private airlines Novoair and US-Bangla Airlines operate domestic flights to Dhaka.
Jashore Airport is a domestic airport in Jashore, Bangladesh that is operated and maintained by the Civil Aviation Authority. It is also used by the Bangladesh Air Force as part of BAF Matiur Rahman Base and training airfield for the Bangladesh Air Force Academy. Currently it has seven daily flights to Dhaka and a weekly flight to Cox's Bazar. It is the only operational airport of the Khulna Division and the fifth busiest airport of Bangladesh.
Shah Makhdum Airport is a domestic airport serving Rajshahi, the principal city of the Rajshahi Division in Bangladesh. The airport is located at Nowhata, about 10 kilometers away from city center of Rajshahi and named after Sufi saint Shah Makhdum Rupos. The airport also serves as a base for two flying training academy.
Saipur Airport is a domestic airport located in Saidpur, in the Nilphamari district of northern Bangladesh.
The history of aviation in Bangladesh began with kites, the traditional heavier-than-air man-made object that is flown by one or more people while staying on the ground. The first recorded manned flight was arranged by the Dhaka Nawab Family in 1882, which resulted in the death of the flyer.
United Airways (BD) Ltd., operated as United Airways, was a Bangladeshi airline headquartered in Uttara, Dhaka. It operated flights from its main hub at Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka and secondary hub at Shah Amanat International Airport in Chittagong. It was founded in 2005 and began flights on 10 July 2007 with a Bombardier Dash 8–100, purchased from Island Air. United Airways was the first listed company in the aviation sector of Bangladesh; it became listed in July 2010.
NOVOAIR is a Bangladeshi airline based in Dhaka operating mostly domestic flights. It operates 25 flights each day from Dhaka to its eight destinations.
US-Bangla Airlines is the second largest airline in Bangladesh by fleet size. The airline is headquartered in Dhaka and is based at Shahjalal International Airport under the umbrella companies of US-Bangla Group.
Biman Bangladesh Airlines Flight 060 was a scheduled international passenger flight from Dhaka Hazrat Shah Jalal International Airport, Bangladesh to Yangon International Airport, Myanmar. On May 8, 2019, the Bombardier Q400 aircraft skidded off the runway upon landing, breaking into three sections. There were no fatalities, but 18 of the 28 passengers on board including 5 crew members were injured: the aircraft was also declared a hull loss, making it the tenth hull loss of a Q400 aircraft.
Sajjadul Hassan is a Bangladesh Awami League politician and the incumbent Jatiya Sangsad member representing the Netrokona-4 constituency since August 2023. Prior to this position, he served as a bureaucrat and the chairperson of Bangladesh Biman airlines. He is a former Senior Secretary at the Prime Minister's Office.
Air Astra is a privately owned Bangladeshi passenger airline headquartered in Dhaka and based at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport under Astra Airways Limited.
Media related to Cox's Bazar Airport at Wikimedia Commons