7 Abandoned Airports in Bangladesh are being reopened

The Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB) has taken the initiative to reopen seven abandoned, unused, and encroached airports across different districts of the country. These airports are located in Ishwardi, Thakurgaon, Lalmonirhat, Bogura, Shamshernagar, Cumilla, and Tejgaon.

This move aims to boost the country’s domestic tourism sector and increase passenger transport. Necessary work related to this initiative has already begun. According to CAAB’s 2030 action plan and relevant sources, currently, no flights take off or land at these airports. Some of them are under the occupation of various organizations, while cattle, goats, and other livestock freely roam on the runways of several others.

Some airports lack boundary walls or security checkpoints. Locals even play cricket on some of the runways. In some cases, large trees have grown on the runway, and overgrown grass makes it difficult to even see the runway. Due to prolonged abandonment and disuse, the strength of the runways, known as the Pavement Classification Number (PCN), has deteriorated.

Additionally, due to lack of repairs and water accumulation, parts of the concrete or block layers of the runways have been damaged.

According to the Planning and Development Quality (P&DQ) division of CAAB, there are currently 28 airports in different districts of the country, most of which were built during British rule. The length of these runways ranges between 3,000 and 3,500 feet, making them currently unsuitable for passenger flights.

CAAB plans to gradually upgrade these runways to 6,000 to 8,000 feet in length. They also aim to increase the PCN to between 30 and 60 feet. This would allow small passenger aircraft such as the ATR or Dash-8 Q400 models to begin flight operations.