Modern ATC tower boosts airspace safety, revenue collection

The newly commissioned Air Traffic Control (ATC) tower at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport has significantly increased Bangladesh’s overflight revenue, while improved surveillance has strengthened flight safety across the country’s airspace.

The government collected Tk416.91 crore in overflight charges in the six months from January to June this year, marking an 8-10% increase compared with the previous period.

Air Commodore Md Nur-e-Alam, an ATC member of the Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB), said revenue growth currently stood at around 6-8%.

“Previously, monthly revenue from overflights stood at Tk60-70 crore. It has now risen to around Tk69-71 crore,” he said, comparing the figures for 2025 and 2026.

The government spent Tk942 crore to install a radar system supplied by French company Thales. Nur-e-Alam said the investment could be recovered within 16-18 months if the current revenue trend continues.

The new tower and modern navigation systems have expanded surveillance coverage to around 350 nautical miles from Dhaka, allowing authorities to identify every flight entering Bangladesh’s airspace and collect the applicable charges.

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He said large parts of the Bay of Bengal previously remained outside effective radar coverage.

“With the integration of the Chattogram radar, we can now provide coverage much farther south. We have also introduced other technologies in areas where radar coverage is unavailable,” he said.

As a result, authorities will also be able to collect revenue from routes used by aircraft flying over the Bay of Bengal, he added.