Biman Bangladesh In-Charge of Ground Handling of Third Terminal

Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport’s third terminal was envisioned to make Bangladesh an aviation hub. The work on this terminal will be completed soon. After that, the ground handling of the terminal will be taken care of by Biman Bangladesh Airline, while the overall operations will be conducted by the Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB).

CAAB said that according to the agreement, the contractor will complete all the work of the third terminal on April 5. On April 6 CAAB will take over and after various trials, this terminal will start operations.

CAAB sources said ground handling will be required at the new terminal from day one of operations. Although the government talked about the agreement with the Japanese company, the agreement was not completed until the last week of February. So initially, CAAB is thinking of giving the ground handling work to Biman Bangladesh Airlines, the national flag carrier. Biman is already preparing for ground handling after receiving this indication.

However, Biman says that they are ready to do ground handling of the third terminal permanently. They will have to prove their capability before any organisation is considered for the job.

CAAB Chairman Air Vice Marshal, Mofidur Rahman told reporters, “The Japanese company’s agreement with Bangladesh may be finalised by July or August. Once the deal comes through, they will take over. However, it is impossible to take over in August and bring it fully into operation in October. So Civil Aviation will start working after consideration. We will start with ground handling with Biman for the time being.”

He said there is a process to move from the old terminal to the new terminal. We have started this process. Test & trial and calibration of the equipment is going on. A few minor interior works are still in progress. I hope to get the job on April 6 as per the contract.

Meanwhile, Biman Bangladesh Airlines was already showing interest in getting the ground handling job. However, due to various mismanagement and complaints, the relevant department of the government wants to give ground handling work to the Japanese company.

Shafiul Azim, the Managing Director and CEO of Biman Bangladesh Airlines, said, “The ground handling performance depends on airport facilities. Having sufficient boarding bridges, bays, parking areas, and baggage belts will improve ground handling. Terminal III has these facilities. Besides, the third terminal has state-of-the-art aircraft equipment and manpower for ground handling. Manpower training has also been done.”

He said, “It is not yet decided who will do the ground handling work permanently. However, since Biman Bangladesh is handling the ground handling of the two terminals of the Shahjalal International Airport, it means that they will handle the third terminal from the beginning. Biman has ample ground handling experience at Shahjalal International Airport. We hope, considering Biman’s performance, that the PPP authority thinks that Biman can also get this responsibility ultimately.”

Meanwhile, Shahjalal International Airport has already started taking advantage of the third terminal from the end of 2023. After landing, the aircraft can quickly leave the runway using two high-speed exit taxiways.

The state-of-the-art Third Terminal which costs over 21 Thousand Crore taka to construct, has significantly increased the worldwide acceptance of Dhaka Airport. Till today, the airport was able to provide services to almost 80 Lac travellers each year. However, with the inauguration of this third terminal, which has parking space for 37 aircraft, 16 baggage belts and many more amenities, the airport hopes to provide services to at least 1.2 Lac travellers each year. The airport will be fully functional by October 2024.

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