Cox’s Bazar Airport will open up the world’s longest sandy sea beach to international tourists and visitors from July 2025 as Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB) has stepped up the preparatory work to reopen the airport as the country’s fourth international airport.
A coordination meeting, led by CAAB Chairman Air Vice-Marshal Md Monjur Kabir Bhuiyan, directed key stakeholders to meet the July 25 deadline as per the chief adviser’s directives, CAAB officials said.
Among others, representatives from Biman Bangladesh Airlines, immigration police, customs authorities and the airline operators committee participated in the meeting. “We will be in a position to operate international flights from Cox’s Bazar in July,” mentioned a CAAB director.
CAAB officials expressed hope that the runway extension project will conclude very soon. Currently, the runway length at Cox’s Bazar airport is 9,000 feet and with an additional 1,700 feet being built into the Bay of Bengal, pilots will have access to 10,700 feet runway.
The airport development scheme encompasses the extension of the runway and the construction of a new terminal building, enabling round-the-clock flight operations. Once completed, the facility will have the longest runway across Bangladesh, added the CAAB officials.
Initially, international flights will operate from the current terminal building on an ad-hoc basis.
The new state-of-the-art international terminal is expected to be completed later.
Cox’s Bazar Airport started its journey as a domestic airport in 1956. Due to damage done to the airport in 1971, the facility was re-opened at the end of the liberation war. Currently, four airliners are operating domestic passenger flights to and from the airport. They are Biman Bangladesh Airlines, Novo Air, US-Bangla Airlines and Air Astra Airways.
On the other hand, two cargo operators—Sky Capital Airlines and Nxt Airlines—are running their flights to and from Cox’s Bazar Airport.
Bangladesh Tourism Board officials believe the upgraded international airlink will eventually connect the scenic, pristine beach with global hubs of tourism.