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First baggage in 12 minutes, last within 40 at third terminal
Published : Tuesday, 29 September, 2026 at 5:23 PM
Observer online report
Passengers at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport’s third terminal are set to receive their first piece of baggage within 12 minutes and the last piece within a maximum of 40 minutes after an aircraft lands.
Civil Aviation and Tourism Minister M Rashiduzzaman Millat disclosed the information while responding to questions from journalists at the ministry’s conference room at the Secretariat on Tuesday.
He said service time limits had been included in the agreement with the Japanese consortium to ensure service quality at the third terminal. The target is to deliver the first baggage within 12 minutes and the last baggage within 25 minutes, with a maximum grace period of 40 minutes.
If the operator fails to meet the deadline, it will be fined, the minister said.
The agreement also sets time limits for disembarking and boarding passengers. The concerned operator will be held accountable if it fails to provide the services within the stipulated time, he added.
Asked how long passengers currently have to wait for baggage at the existing terminal, Millat said most passengers receive their baggage within 40 minutes. He said he had not seen any case in the past month where passengers had to wait more than 40 minutes.
However, he said the old terminals need further renovation and infrastructure development to provide services comparable to those planned for the third terminal.
The government hopes to partially open the long-awaited third terminal on December 16, the minister said. Full operations may take another five to six months after the partial opening.
He expressed hope that the third terminal would reduce passengers’ long-standing dissatisfaction with airport services and that timely baggage delivery and other services would reduce passenger suffering.
The minister also said there were plans to make Cox’s Bazar Airport an international airport. The government plans to launch international operations there in the first week of November, he said.
Several airlines have contacted the authorities about operating direct international flights from Cox’s Bazar. AirAsia has shown interest in launching a direct flight between Penang and Cox’s Bazar, Millat said.
He also outlined plans to develop Bangladesh as an aviation hub by expanding air connectivity through new international destinations.
The minister said Biman Bangladesh Airlines cannot operate flights on many routes according to demand because of its small fleet. He said Middle Eastern airlines operate multiple flights a day from Bangladesh on various routes, while Biman lacks similar capacity.
Expanding Biman’s fleet could increase the number of flights and destinations and potentially reduce ticket prices for passengers, he said.
Millat said Biman’s Japan route is profitable and that there are plans to introduce a second flight on the route.
He added that the government plans to expand Biman’s fleet by purchasing new aircraft as well as leasing aircraft, with the aim of increasing the national flag carrier’s market share and carrying more Bangladeshi passengers on its own flights.
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Editor : Iqbal Sobhan Chowdhury
Published by the Editor on behalf of the Observer Ltd. from Globe Printers, 24/A, New Eskaton Road, Ramna, Dhaka.
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Published by the Editor on behalf of the Observer Ltd. from Globe Printers, 24/A, New Eskaton Road, Ramna, Dhaka.
Editorial, News and Commercial Offices : Aziz Bhaban (2nd floor), 93, Motijheel C/A, Dhaka-1000.
Phone: PABX- 41053001-06; Advertisement: 41053012; 01793317829, 01550707291, E-mail: [email protected], [email protected] Online: email: [email protected] 41053014; 01550707297 Advertisement: 01550707296
