BGMEA President Faruque Hassan said the mega projects taken by the government for upgrading airports in the country including construction of the third terminal of the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport will help to meet future demand of air transportation and contribute to further economic growth in Bangladesh.

“Global merchandise trade has begun to recover from the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic and trade flows are expected to continue in the coming days. Many countries are relaxing their travel restrictions depending on their Covid situation. As a result, both business travel and air transportation of goods are increasing,” he said.

In such a context, he requested the government to speed up implementation of the projects aimed at upgrading major airports including building new terminal and extension of runways in Dhaka, Chattogram, Cox’s Bazar and Sylhet.

The call was made when leaders of BGMEA headed by President Faruque Hassan met with Honorable State Minister for Civil Aviation and Tourism Md. Mahbub Ali at the Secretariat in Dhaka on October 10.

BGMEA Vice President Shahidullah Azim, Vice President (Finance) Khandoker Rafiqul Islam, and Vice President Md. Nasir Uddin attended the meeting.

Md. Mokammel Hossain, Secretary, Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism; Sajjadul Hassan, Chairman, Biman Bangladesh Airlines; Air Vice Marshal M Mafidur Rahman, Chairman of Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh; and Dr. Abu Saleh Mostafa Kamal, Managing Director, Biman Bangladesh Airlines were also present at the meeting.

 The BGMEA leaders said the economy of Bangladesh is expanding, so the import-exports and investment are also growing. Hence, the launch of a new terminal with modern facilities will speed up and boost the trade of the country.

They expressed their hope that this new terminal would be a blessing for passengers and businesses as both the cargo and passenger capacities will increase.

They urged Bangladesh Biman Airlines to increase the number of flights to Dubai and London, and to operate flights in long routes -- to Toronto, New York, Manchester, Frankfurt, Amsterdam, Paris, Rome and Barcelona.

They also requested the government through the Board of Biman Bangladesh Airlines to procure four cargo freighters (cargo aircrafts) to meet the increased demand for air shipment of import-export goods.