CHATTOGRAM, Oct 25: Air traffic through the Chattogram Shah Amanat International Airport have been increasing remarkably day by day during the last few years.
Talking to the Daily Observer, Engr Md Ibrahim Khalil, public relations officer of Ctg airport, said that a total of seven airlines including foreign airlines and local air lines are operating international flights carrying nearly 1.20 lakh passengers monthly. 'The passengers have been increasing daily' he said.
Currently International flight operations have been increasing at Chattogram's Shah Amanat International Airport, he added.
After suspending services for about 13 months, from September last year to October this year UAE-based airline flydubai will resume its operations at the airport from Sunday, Khalil said. The carrier will operate seven flights a week -- one daily -- from Chattogram.
He further said, "Discussions are ongoing with several Middle Eastern and China-based airlines, and we hope they will soon begin operations at Shah Amanat."
Earlier in September, Oman-based SalamAir also resumed its operations at Shah Amanat International Airport, further boosting international passenger traffic.
Industry insiders said that airlines which had previously withdrawn services are now returning, allowing Shah Amanat International Airport to regain its vibrancy.
According to sources, SalamAir suspended operations from Shah Amanat on September 1 last year due to insufficient passenger demand.
According to Airport sources, the SAIA handled over 7,16,421 during the current year since January to June in 11300 flights including 4610 international and 6690 domestic flights in six months.
Moreover, during the year 2024 last, SAIA handled 16,41,611 passengers in 18715 flights, in 2023 it handled 16,27,087 passengers in 20,508 flights.
The Airport Authority claimed that recently the air travelling through SAIA has remarkably been increased.
Particularly in domestic route, the passengers are preferring air travelling from Dhaka to Chattogram.
Moreover, passengers in domestic flights have increased remarkably due to traffic jam and other constraints on land and train services. The local passengers also preferred to air route during their visit to and from Dhaka and Chattogram.
The numbers of passengers in international flights have also increased only because of privileges for flying from Chattogram to other international destinations directly. For this reason, most of the local people working in the Middle Eastern countries are visiting by international flights from Chattogram directly.
The Chattogram Shah Amanat International Airport (SAIA) was constructed with the financial assistance of the Overseas Economic Cooperation Fund (OECF) of Japan at a cost of about Taka 5.41 billion in 1998.
Shah Amanat International Airport used only 8 per cent of its handling capacity till 2010 that was not enough for the sustenance as a viable international airport.
The SAIA is now a profitable airport of the country.
The SAIA sources said that the revenue income was over 211 crore in 2024-25 finncial year; Taka 237 crore in 2023-24 FY; Taka 225 crore in 2022-23 FY.
The existing airlines in international routes are Biman of Bnagladesh, US Bangla of Bangladesh; Flydubai, Air Arabia and SalamAir while in domestic route are Biman, US Bangla, Air Astra and Novo Air.
