Cox’s Bazar airport’s new terminal opens tomorrow

Cox’s Bazar airport’s newly built terminal is set to begin handling domestic passengers tomorrow following a final test run today, marking a key step towards the launch of international flights from the country’s premier tourism destination.
Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB) Member for Operations and Planning Air Commodore Abu Sayeed Mehboob Khan confirmed the schedule on Saturday.
“We will conduct the final test run tomorrow (Sunday) and the new terminal will open for domestic operations from Monday,” he said.
Abu Sayeed said he and CAAB Member for Air Traffic Management Md Noor-e-Alam would travel to Cox’s Bazar today to oversee the final test run and preparations for the opening.
They will remain there through Monday to oversee the start of passenger operations at the new terminal, he added.
Initially, the terminal will handle both arriving and departing domestic passengers. Airlines will use golf carts to transport passengers between aircraft and the terminal building.
CAAB Chairman Air Vice Marshal Md Mostafa Mahmood Siddiq earlier said domestic airlines operating at the airport had completed preparations to shift their passenger-handling activities to the new terminal.
Once international flights begin, the airport will adopt a hybrid arrangement for passenger handling, according to Abu Sayeed.
Under the arrangement, both arriving and departing international passengers will use the new terminal. 
Domestic arriving passengers will use the existing terminal, while departing domestic passengers will complete check-in formalities at the new terminal before proceeding to the old terminal for boarding.
The government is preparing to formally launch Cox’s Bazar as an international airport in October following major infrastructure upgrades, including construction of the new terminal and extension of the runway into the Bay of Bengal.
The international passenger terminal, covering around 17,956 square metres, was built under a project with an approved cost of approximately Tk362.63 crore.
It includes departure and arrival facilities, check-in desks, immigration counters, baggage delivery belts, a boarding bridge, lifts, escalators, security screening equipment and other modern passenger-handling facilities.
Following the expansion, the airport’s annual passenger-handling capacity is expected to increase from around 730,000 to 1.8 million.
A 36,300-square-metre apron capable of accommodating two wide-body and three Dash-8 aircraft, along with two taxiways, has also been completed.
CAAB has extended the runway from 9,000 feet to 10,700 feet by reclaiming around 43 hectares of land from the Bay of Bengal, making it the longest runway in Bangladesh.
The extended runway is designed to accommodate fully loaded wide-body aircraft as part of preparations for international operations.
Cox’s Bazar airport currently handles an average of 28 to 30 passenger aircraft take-offs and landings a day.
The government expects direct international air connectivity to boost foreign tourist arrivals and encourage investment in hotels, resorts and other tourism-related businesses in the beach city.