Exporters turning away from HSIA

Hazraat Shahjalal International Airport (HSIA) has been in the news for some years now. Security, or rather the lack of it had caused a lot of headache for the country's image. Now, there are other problems. The cost of sending cargo is one of the highest in the region and this, coupled with corruption and inefficient handling facilities, make HSIA no longer viable for air cargo shippers to use the airport. Today it is cheaper to send air cargo via Kolkata or Colombo airports and cost savings are anywhere up to USD 0.30 per kilogram (kg) and saving of a day in air freight.

HSIA has turned too costly for freight forwarders because the sole ground handler Biman charges eight cents per kg as terminal handling charge. A further six cents per kg have to be paid to the Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh for security activities. When these high charges are calculated, our premier airport ends up being more expensive than Singapore. Given that HSIA also lacks adequate cargo space to handle the growing volume of air cargo and allegations of "speed money" along with theft of goods have all come to a head and although there has been much talk about revamping the airport with new facilities, nothing substantial has materialised.  

Progress on infrastructure development, reduction of charges, increase in efficiency, safety and security of cargo—none of these has been properly addressed over the last few years. Without addressing key bottlenecks that have been a sore point for freight forwarders for years, we are at risk of losing dominance in our own market. In today's inter-connected world, we have to do better, or lose out on precious revenue for both inbound and outbound cargo shipments as business move to foreign airports. For starters, there is great need to do a review of charges and introduce more ground handlers that will compete against one another to get business, which will inevitably lead to greater efficiency and cost reduction.