The British authorities have expressed concerns about the vulnerable security situation at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport, and has asked Dhaka to improve its conditions.
They also requested a sustainable action plan from Dhaka to ensure proper security measures at the airport, otherwise complexities regarding continuation of Dhaka-London direct flights might arise.
A senior government official said security situation at airports around the world heightened after a bomb exploded inside a Russian plane in Egypt in October.
After the plane blast, initially 11 airports of eight countries were under observations due to security vulnerability; but now the number has increased to 38 airports in 20 countries, he said.
The British authorities wanted to inspect Dhaka airport and in November they sent a team to see by themselves about the security situation.
After the inspection, they told the Bangladesh authorities that there were security lapses and expressed their concern that if the situation did not improve, Dhaka-London direct flights might be suspended, he said.
The official said the UK, the US and Australia have long been asking for the improvement of airport security.
Jon Lovsey, regional liaison officer for Aviation Safety for Asia-Pacific region, came in November and submitted his first report where he mentioned about security lapses for passenger movement.
Lovsey again visited Dhaka in mid-December and submitted the second report where security lapses in cargo handling system were highlighted.
The US and Australia also endorsed the British reports and acted accordingly, he added.
Australia suspended cargo movement from Bangladesh after the first British report, the official said.
The UK team observed that there was no proper screening of passenger while boarding the plane and equipment tagging was not functional, he said, adding that they also mentioned about security lapses in cargo holding and aircraft hanger area.
The second report asked for removing all private freight forward agents from the hanger area and using of tagging equipment for security.
When contacted, Civil Aviation and Tourism Minister Rashed Khan Menon said the British authorities informed Dhaka about security lapses.
The minister said they alleged that scanner operators did not work properly and did not have any training.
In addition to that, explosive tracing machine provided by the UK were not put in place for function, Menon said.
Bangladesh has taken steps to address their concerns and immediately improve the situation.
“We introduced new system to check belts, shoes and jacket of the passengers and explosive tracing machine were installed and those are functioning,” the minister said.
An airport security force has been introduced and they are already operational, he said.
Bangladesh is going to send an actionable sustainable plan by Monday to improve the security situation, the minister said.