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Published : 29 Jan 2026, 05:04 PM
The Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism has taken a policy decision to split the Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB) into separate regulator and operator agencies.
The decision was communicated to the CAAB through an official letter sent by the Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism on Wednesday.
A press release from the ministry on Thursday said that CAAB had been performing the two roles simultaneously.
On the one hand, CAAB oversaw the safety and security of aviation as a regulator. On the other hand, as an operator, it provided air navigation services and ran airports.
The government believes that this creates a “conflict of interest” in making decisions about the operator's work as a regulator.
The ministry's press release said that the audit conducted by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) had highlighted the need to separate the regulator and operator entities of CAAB.
In addition, the ministry said that the report of the committee formed to investigate the fire at the import cargo complex at Dhaka's Shahjalal International Airport on Oct 18 also recommended separating the operator and regulator into separate entities.
The notice said, "In order to meet this requirement, the government has taken a policy decision to split the Civil Aviation Authority and form separate regulator and operator agencies. A separate operator agency will be formed to run the airports, including providing air navigation services, through the formulation and amendment of necessary laws and rules as soon as possible."
The ministry hopes that this will not only fulfil international obligations but also improve the quality of civil aviation services.
