Osmani International Airport

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MAG Osmani International Airport
ওসমানী আন্তর্জাতিক বিমানবন্দর
Osmani Antarjātik Bimānabandar
200px
IATA: ZYL – ICAO: VGSY
ZYL is located in Bangladesh
ZYL
ZYL
Location of airport in Bangladesh
Summary
Airport type Public
Operator Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh
Serves Sylhet, Bangladesh
Elevation AMSL 50 ft / 15 m
Coordinates Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
11/29 9,646 2,940 Asphalt/Concrete
Source: Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh[1]

MAG Osmani International Airport (IATA: ZYL, ICAO: VGSY) (Bengali: ওসমানী আন্তর্জাতিক বিমানবন্দর) is third largest international airport in the country After Chittagong in Bangladesh. The airport is operated by the Civil Aviation Authority, Bangladesh (CAAB) and is served by Biman Bangladesh Airlines, the national airline which at one point earned most of its revenue from this airport.[2] Private airlines Novoair, United Airways and US-Bangla Airlines operate domestic flights to Dhaka. The vast majority of passengers using the airport are expatriate Bangladeshis and their descendants from the Sylhet Division living in the United Kingdom.

History

The old building of Osmani International Airport

Osmani International Airport was built during British rule of the Indian Subcontinent, partly to check Japanese aggression from Burma. The airport was formerly known as Sylhet Civil Airport but was renamed after General M A G Osmani, a Sylheti Bangladeshi Independence War hero.

File:Terminal building, Osmani Airport Sylhet.jpg
A portion of the airport's current terminal building.

The airport was initially served by domestic flights from Shahjalal International Airport by the country's national airline Biman Bangladesh Airlines. After many years of lobbying by expatriates living in the UK, limited expansion of the airport was carried out to enable medium-sized aircraft, such as the Airbus A310 used by Biman, to operate. The work was completed in October 2002 and the airport was designated an international airport by the government. However, the airport was not up to international standards to be capable of fully accommodating international flights due to many shortcomings with the instrument landing system and runway lighting system and was seen as a move to stave off pressure by the government.

File:Apronsylhetairport1.jpg
Two boarding bridges on the airport's apron.

Nevertheless, on 3 November 2002, the airport received its first international arrival. Biman flight BG020 from Kuwait via Abu Dhabi landed at 10:05 with 215 passengers en route to Dhaka.[3] The disembarking passengers on the inaugural flight were greeted by then Finance & Planning Minister, M Saifur Rahman and State Minister for Civil Aviation and Tourism, Mir Mohammad Nasiruddin. For a brief period, Biman also operated a direct service from London but was later re-routed via Dhaka.

File:Osmaniairport2.jpg
Interior view of Osmani international airport.

Additional expansion of the runway and improvements to the runway lighting and airport facilities were commenced in 2004 to enable wide-bodied aircraft to safely land and takeoff from the airport.[4][5]

The South Asia Transport and Trade Facilitation Conference report of 2006 (by the United States Trade and Development Agency) noted that the development of the airport "up to the standards of [an] international airport" to "encourage private sector participation in air transport" were projects that were under consideration by the government.[6]

Work started in 2006 to upgrade the terminal facilities to enable handling of international flights. The improvements include construction of a new terminal building, two Jetways and a taxi-way.[7] In May 2007, the foreign affairs adviser, informed journalists that the works were on scheduled for completion in June 2007.[8] He also confirmed that Biman will be operating Hajj flights directly from the airport during the Hajj season later in 2007.[9] However, the runway expansion works had not been completed in June with the foreign affairs adviser indicating in August that "minor dressing work" still remained.[10] The work was finally finished in December 2008.[11]

In 2010 the decision was made to construct a refueling station. Construction work began in January 2012. In January 2014 the Project Director Aminul Haq stated that the project was 70% complete.[12]

Airlines and destinations

Airlines Destinations
Biman Bangladesh Airlines (International Terminal) Abu Dhabi1, Doha1, Dubai-International1, London-Heathrow1, Jeddah1
Biman Bangladesh Airlines (Domestic Terminal) Dhaka
Novoair Dhaka
United Airways Dhaka
US-Bangla Airlines Dhaka

^1 Inbound flights only.

Incidents and accidents

  • On 22 December 1997, Biman Bangladesh Airlines flight BG-609 carrying 85 passengers and 4 crew, operated by a Fokker F28-4000, crashed onto a paddy field 5.6 kilometres from the foot of the runway in heavy fog, on final approach from Dhaka. 17 passengers were injured.[13]
  • On 8 October 2004, Biman Bangladesh Airlines flight BG-601 carrying 79 passengers and 4 crew, operated by a Fokker F28-4000, inbound from Dhaka overran the wet runway and ended up in a ditch. Two passengers were injured.

See also

References

 This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the Air Force Historical Research Agency.

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External links

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