CAAB Aims to Connect with 10 Countries Via Air

The newly constructed third terminal at Shahjalal has ushered in a new horizon in Bangladesh’s airspace. CAAB, or the Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh, aims to use this opportunity to connect and operate flights on new routes. The ICAO Airservice Navigation Event, ICAN 2023, started in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on December 3. 76 countries, including Bangladesh, are participating in this five-day event.

In this event, CAAB is targeting to discuss and review air service agreements with 10 countries and several bilateral aviation agreements with different countries. Meanwhile, a delegation of 9 members led by CAAB Chairman Air Vice Marshal Md. Mufidur Rahman participated in this event.

A number of countries had applied to operate flights even before the soft opening of the third terminal, CAAB sources said. They are being reviewed. Besides, they are still targeting to establish an air agreement with 10 countries during the ongoing event in Riyadh.

The event included meetings with Saudi Arabia’s General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) and CAAB. Apart from this, by participating in the event, there will be an opportunity to discuss and review issues related to bilateral aviation agreements with many countries at the same time and sign various important documents.

It saves time and money. Meanwhile, Bahrain has offered to sit down for negotiations regarding the signing of a bilateral aviation agreement with Bangladesh. Some countries, including Sicily, have expressed their interest in participating in the bilateral review meeting with Bangladesh through diplomatic channels and e-mails.

Apart from this, Russia has offered to participate in a sideline meeting with Bangladesh. On the other hand, bilateral aviation agreements have been signed with South Korea, Brunei, and Rwanda, but their frequency has not been determined. Bilateral meetings are required to determine the frequency and create opportunities for flight operations with these countries. It is necessary to increase the existing frequencies with Canada, Australia, Hong Kong, Kuwait, and Egypt and regularize the increased frequencies with China on a TOP basis.

Participating in the event will facilitate the settlement of issues through discussions with these countries. At the same time, there will be an opportunity to review bilateral aviation agreements with many countries that have been needed for a long time.

Besides, when the third terminal of Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport is fully operational by 2024, the existing frequencies also need to be updated to accommodate more flights.

CAAB Chairman Mofidur Rahman said that the ICAO Air Service Navigation Event, ICAN 2023, is very important for any country. We attended this event. Our third terminal is done. Now we can operate flights on new routes. Many countries are participating in this event. By discussing with them, importance will be given to new routes, increasing flights, and establishing air agreements with new countries.

It is to be noted that under the leadership of CAAB Chairman, CAAB Board Member (Flight Standards and Regulation), Air Commodore Shah Kauser Ahmad Chowdhury, Director (Air Transmission) AKM Faizul Haque, Special Inspector (Commercial Air Transport) SM Golam Rabbani, Aviation Attorney Farzana Nusrat, Ministry-Aviation-USBangla and NovoAir representatives have participated in this event.

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