Dhaka airport to operate round the clock from Sunday midnight

Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka will be operational round the clock from Sunday midnight after runway development forced daily closure for eight hours in the past four and a half months.

The work to set up two high-speed taxiways, which began on Dec 10, was supposed to continue until June, but it was complete before schedule, Air-Vice Marshal M Mafidur Rahman, chairman of the Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh, said earlier in April.

The airport’s Executive Director Group Captain Mohammad Quamrul Islam on Saturday confirmed that the runway will be operational from 1800 UTC.

The authorities also notified the airlines about the decision.

The closure from 12am to 8am, which according to people in the industry is the busiest time for international flights, caused trouble for the airlines and passengers.

The construction of the third terminal at Dhaka’s Shahjalal International Airport is going on amid the coronavirus pandemic. The piling work at the site is almost done. Photo: Asif Mahmud Ove

The development drew mixed reactions from stakeholders who recognised the importance of renovating the runways but believe the work could have been done at the beginning of the pandemic when flight services were suspended.

Since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, air travel had been restricted around the world as most commercial carriers were grounded, with only cargo flights remaining in operation.

The situation was no different in Bangladesh but now most international flight routes are open.