Abstract:
Due to highly congested and time-consuming roadway, waterway and emerging
business and tourism in Bangladesh, the air travel demand is increasing rapidly. At
present the Aggregate growth in air passenger movement is 9.9%, cargo movement
is 7.4% and in 2012-2013, the Biman Bangladesh carried a total number of 15,
72,708 passengers and 33434 tons of cargos.
To meet the demand, at present all aviation activities are carried out from three
international and six domestic airports and five STOL’s. Country’s main airport
Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport (HSIA), Dhaka handles nearly 50 percent of
the country's international and domestic arrivals and departures annually while the
other two international airports, Shah Amanat International Airport (SAIA),
Chittagong and Osmani International Airport (OIA), Sylhet handle nearly 21% and
4% respectively and the remaining 25% is handled by Bangladesh's domestic
airports. There are about 18 domestic and 19 international airlines are now operating
in and out of the country and B777-300ER aircraft has become the most demanding
aircraft in Bangladesh which FAA and ICAO code are D-V and 4-E respectively.
From the study it is found that, all the three international airports are facilitating
with single runway systems. The HSIA, SAIA and OIA have runways designated as
14-32, 5-23, and 11-29 respectively. The runway dimensions for HSIA, SAIA and
OIA are 3200m x 45m, 2940m x 45m and 3125m x 46m respectively. The HSIA
runway meets the length requirement for the current design aircraft while the other
two international airport runways have failed for Code E aircrafts. The width
provided is adequate for all three international airports for category E design
aircraft. The future demand for category F design aircraft requires the width to be
increased to 60m for all the three international airports in Bangladesh.
The HSIA is provided parallel taxiway system with a rapid exit taxiway at 14 End of
the runway whereas the other two airports have central taxiways. The Taxiway
width provided for the international airports in Bangladesh is sufficient to fulfill the
requirements for Code E aircrafts. In 2012, the HSIA, SAIA and OIA accommodate
5.57, 0.92 and 0.21 million passengers annually while their design capacities are 8,
1.5 and 0.5 million per year respectively. In this respect the linear terminal design
may be modified to pier or satellite terminal design to meet the future demand.
The Approach Lighting system of HSIA is Precision Approach Cat-I (14 End) and
Simple Approach with Sequenced Flashing Lights (32 End) where the other two
airports has Simple Approach Lighting System on both ends. The Approach
Lighting system should be upgraded to Cat-II in accordance with ICAO standards.
The threshold lighting SAIA and OIA should be supplemented by wing bars and
runway centerline lighting should be provided to facilitate operations of wide bodied
aircrafts, especially during night and poor visibility conditions. All the three
international airports are equipped with the NAVAIDS such as- DVOR, DME,
NDB, ILS, MM, OM and OL. However, these navigational aids are in very poor
condition and have a very low reliability, which needs urgent replacements.
