Domestic flights begin from new terminal at Cox’s Bazar airport
Domestic flight operations began from the newly-constructed terminal building of Cox’s Bazar airport at 8:50am on Monday.
A flight of private airline US-Bangla carrying around 70 passengers departed from the new terminal for the first time.
The terminal building is scheduled to be officially inaugurated next October.
However, all domestic flights at Cox’s Bazar airport began operating from the new terminal building from Monday, even before the official inauguration.
Cox’s Bazar airport Director Golam Mortoza Hossain confirmed the matter.
He said a letter was sent last Thursday to all relevant departments of the airport and airlines to make the necessary preparations for operating domestic flights from the new terminal.
The letter asked Biman Bangladesh Airlines, US-Bangla Airlines, Novoair and Air Astra to complete the necessary preparations.
More opportunities for passenger services
The new terminal building has arrangements to make passenger management more modern and orderly.
The terminal has a total of 14 check-in counters. As a result, there is an opportunity to conduct passenger check-in procedures in a more organised manner than before.
Airlines will also be able to use separate check-in counters as required.
For now, Novoair and Air Astra will share check-in counters.
Officials concerned said the modern infrastructure of the new terminal has created an opportunity to manage the processes of passengers entering the airport, checking in and boarding flights in a more orderly manner.
Work to modernise the airport has been underway for several years to develop Cox’s Bazar as an international aviation hub and promote the tourism industry. As part of this, runway expansion and modern aviation infrastructure are being developed alongside the new terminal building.
One of the key components of the project is the 1,700-foot expansion of the runway towards the sea.
This has increased the runway length from 9,000 feet to 10,700 feet. Work on the airport modernisation project, costing 1,868 crore takas, began on August 29, 2021.
Once the expanded runway is operational, large aircraft, including Boeing 777-300ER and Dash-8 Q400, will be able to take off and land.
The new runway is scheduled to become fully operational next October.
Meanwhile, last Wednesday, Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB) Chairman Air Vice Marshal Mostafa Mahmud Siddiqi inspected preparations for the opening of the new terminal building.
He said there are plans to inaugurate international operations from Cox’s Bazar airport next month after domestic operations begin.
Once international flights begin, the new terminal and expanded runway will create an opportunity for international air connectivity with Cox’s Bazar.