Shahjalal International Airport (formerly Zia International Airport) (IATA: DAC, ICAO: VGZR), located in the capital Dhaka, is the largest airport in Bangladesh. It started operations in 1980 taking over as the country’s sole international airport from Tejgaon Airport and is the home base and hub of all the airlines of Bangladesh including Biman Bangladesh Airlines, GMG Airlines and United Airways.
It has an area of 1,981 acres (802 ha). Nearly 52% of the country’s international and domestic arrivals and departures occur through this airport, while the country’s second largest international airport at Chittagong handles about 17% of passengers. About 4 million international and 1 million domestic passengers and 150,000 tons of freight and mail pass through Shah Jalal International Airport annually.
It is located in Kurmitola, 11 NM (20 km; 13 mi) north of the capital Dhaka. The airport is connected to the Dhaka by the Tongi Diversion Road. The nearest hotel near Shahjalal International is the Dhaka Regency Hotel. Shah Jalal International Airport connects many major cities of the world with Bangladesh. From here, Biman Bangladesh Airlines flies to 21 cities on 2 continents.
In 1941, during the second world war, the British government built a landing strip at Kurmitola, several kilometers north of Tejgaon, as an extra landing strip for the Tejgaon Airport, which at the time was a military airport, to operate warplanes towards the war fields of Kohima (Assam) and Burmese war theatres.
After the creation of Pakistan in 1947, Tejgaon Airport became the first civil airport in East Pakistan, now Bangladesh. Following the independence of Bangladesh, to accommodate the increase in air traffic, a new airport was constructed on the Kurmitola airstrip. The new airport started operation in 1981 as Dhaka International Airport but was renamed in 1983 to Zia International Airport after Bangladesh’s former President Ziaur Rahman following his assassination. The name was subsequently changed in 2010 to Shah Jalal International Airport by the Bangladesh government.
In 1992, the airport terminal area experienced rapid expansion with addition of boarding bridges and equipments. A multistorey car park with space for 500 cars was also built at this time.
Other Information
- Airport type : Public
- Operator : Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh
- Serves : Dhaka
- Location : Kurmitola, Dhaka, Bangladesh
- Hub for : Biman Bangladesh Airlines, GMG Airlines, United Airways
- Elevation AMSL : 27 ft / 8 m
- Coordinates : 23°50′34″N 090°24′02″E
- Runways Direction : 14/32
- Length : 10,500 ft (3,200 m)
- Surface : Concrete/Asphalt
Links
- Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh: Airports
- Aerodrome information at the Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh