At least 2,500 new trolleys will be added to the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport (HSIA) from February next year, State Minister for Civil Aviation M Mahbub Ali announced yesterday.

Admitting the shortage of trolleys at the airport and the sufferings it causes passengers, the state minister said those will be added to help passengers' journeys more comfortable.

He said this at a briefing at the HSIA after visiting the two terminals of the airport to observe arrangements for outgoing passengers.

The state minister said out of the total 2,000 trolleys, around 600 are currently out of order.

"We couldn't repair those during the pandemic, but we're working on them now... In four-five days, we will have another 500 trolleys up and running," he said.

Speaking of the difficulties the outbound passengers have faced over the last few days, Mahbub Ali said the Dhaka airport has seen a huge number of passengers in the last three days, which has put a pressure on the airport's trolley service.

He also mentioned that Middle East bound expatriates, who get their Covid tests done at the airport, exacerbate the problem. "They wait for three to four hours for the results, occupying trolleys the whole time."

As a solution, the state minister said they have assigned 32 workers to deliver trolleys to passengers according to need, with another 50 to be hired soon.

Mahbub Ali also warned that if any airport staffer is found involved in the ongoing trolley crisis, steps will be taken against them.

He said those staffers even get dismissed if evidence is found against them.

Meanwhile, the state minister said he has already discussed with Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan about keeping immigration counters at the airport open round-the-clock.

He also mentioned that the number of police personnel at those counters has already been increased.