The Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB) will authorise international cargo flights from Chittagong and Sylhet to address capacity shortages created in the wake of an Indian ban on transhipments, The Daily Star has reported.
"We are opening Sylhet for cargo operations on April 27, and Chattogram [Chittagong] will follow shortly," CAAB chairman Monjur Kabir Bhuiyan said.
The decision to allow international cargo operations out of the two largest non-capital airports in the country will aim to alleviate the capacity crunch at Dhaka. Bangladesh's main airport currently handles, on average, three times more cargo than its nominal capacity on a daily basis. During the peak season it is even more overstretched.
The capacity shortage could now become more acute after India banned the transhipment of Bangladeshi goods in early April. Many exporters preferred to send their goods overland to Kolkata or Delhi International and onwards by air cargo, as this was significantly cheaper due to lower shipping rates, fuel costs, and handling fees.
Local industry bodies estimate that almost a fifth of all Bangladeshi garment exports used to be transhipped via India.
Besides allowing cargo flights to operate from regional airports, the CAAB is also planning to lower fees at Dhaka airport. The new terminal at the country's main gateway, which is due to open by the end of 2025, will also significantly increase the airport's cargo capacity.
India granted Bangladeshi exporters the transhipment facility in 2020, amid the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. Local companies have long complained that this created congestion at Indian airports, seaports, and land borders. Relations between the two countries have been strained since the August 2024 government change in Bangladesh.
