Dhaka airport runway closure: Airlines worry over service disruption

The runway of Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport will remain closed from 12:00am to 8:00am every day from December 10 for six months and some carriers fear there could be service disruption at the airport.  

The authorities are constructing and expanding taxiways for the third terminal for which the runway need to remain closed.

The eight-hour shutdown means 12 international flights, operated by Qatar Airways, Singapore Airlines, Emirates, Saudia Airlines, Turkish Airlines and Malaysian Airlines, will have to be rescheduled.

Some 85-90 flights will have to depart and land within the 16-hour window, meaning the ground handling and other ancillary services provided by the airport authority will be severely strained, said different airline operators.

"Passengers will have to suffer if the airport authorities do not increase ground-handling capabilities and the other facilities beforehand," said a senior official of a foreign airline asking not to be named to speak candidly on the matter.

A sufficient number of check-in counters, boarding bridges, security check-in counters, baggage loading and unloading facilities and other related facilities are needed for the smooth operation of all flights within the 16-hour window, he said.

However, the Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB) thinks the runway closure will not cause much disruption.

The CAAB said they have already discussed the matter with the airline operators and the other stakeholders and have taken the necessary measures to prevent any disruption. The steps include increasing manpower for ground handling.

There would not be any flight delay or other disruption in flight operation due to the closure of the runway from December 10, said AHM Touhid-Ul Ahsan, executive director of HSIA.

If an emergency landing is required during the closure of the runway from December 10, the airlines will have to use Osmani International Airport in Sylhet.

Every day, 27 airlines operate 85 to 90 flights, carrying around 10,000 passengers to different destinations from HISA.