Relocate training flights from Dhaka to prevent disasters

The jet crash at Milestone School and College in Uttara's Diabari is a wake-up call to prevent similar incidents in the future, said speakers at a seminar yesterday.

The seminar, titled "Aviation Emergencies and Civil Risk: Rethinking Disaster Preparedness in Bangladesh", was organised by The Bangladesh Monitor, a fortnightly journal, at a Dhaka hotel.

Capt Tanvir Khurshid, chief of technical at Biman Bangladesh Airlines, said commercial flights regularly face difficulties, including holding aircraft in the sky due to military operations on the lone runway at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport.

"Things become critical during bad weather," he said, adding that flights often miss slots at foreign airports because of delays caused by military aircraft operations at Dhaka airport.

He suggested that military training flights could be shifted to other airports instead of using one in the densely populated capital. "We don't see joint military-civil operations on a single runway in other countries," he noted.

Capt Tanvir also said while Dhaka airport previously handled a small number of flights, around 350 flights now operate daily.

He warned that joint military-civil operations on a single runway could increase the risk of mid-air collisions.

Mofizur Rahman, managing director of Novoair, said joint civil-military operation guidelines of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) are regularly ignored at Dhaka airport.

In response, Group Capt M Kamrul Islam, director CW&IT at Air Headquarters and former executive director of HSIA, said HSIA undergoes ICAO safety inspections, audits, and certifications every two years, and improvements are ongoing.

"Each civil and military flight follows proper protocols and is controlled as per Air Traffic Control clearance," he said, adding that the Bangladesh Air Force also conducts strict flight safety audits for every flight.

Salahuddin M Rahmatullah, former head of the Aircraft Accident Investigation Group at CAAB, criticised CAAB's passive role in ensuring aviation safety and suggested constructing a second, independent runway at Dhaka airport.

Aviation expert and Bangladesh Monitor Editor Kazi Wahidul Alam presented the keynote, calling for the formation of a national aviation emergency task force. The body would include CAAB, BAF, disaster management agencies, emergency services, and local government.

                        He also proposed setting up Aviation Incident Response Zones (AIRZ) around densely populated air corridors or known approach paths of military aircraft.