Bangladesh has significantly tightened control over its skies after installing a long-awaited modern air traffic control system at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport, sharply increasing surveillance coverage and boosting state revenue from foreign aircraft using the country’s airspace.
Officials say the newly operational Air Traffic Control (ATC) tower and advanced radar system have brought Bangladesh’s entire airspace, including large sections over the Bay of Bengal, under full monitoring for the first time in the country’s history.
The system, completed in December 2025 and formally inaugurated in April this year, has already triggered a sharp rise in overflight charge collection, exposing how outdated surveillance systems had previously allowed many aircraft to pass through Bangladesh’s airspace without proper monitoring or fee collection.
According,02 to airport data, Bangladesh collected Tk53.59 crore in overflight charges in January 2024.
After the new system be m came op erational, the figure rose to Tk67.93 crore in January 2025 and further jumped to Tk80.1 6 crore in January 2026.
Similar increases were recorded in February and March, with officials attributing the rise directly to improved radar surveillance and aircraft tracking capability.
Executive Director of Shahjalal International Airport SM Ragib Samad said the new ATC system represents a major breakthrough for Bangladesh’s aviation sector.
“The rise in overflight charge collection reflects the success of this tower,” he said.
He added that Bangladesh now has complete surveillance capability over its national airspace.
“No aircraft can enter Bangladesh’s skies without being detected now,” he said.
Officials said the previous radar and navigation systems were nearly four decades old and unable to provide full coverage, particularly across maritime airspace in the Bay of Bengal region.
As a result, airlines using Bangladesh’s skies often remained outside effective monitoring, depriving the country of mandatory overflight revenue.
The new ATM-CNS system -- which includes modern communication, navigation, surveillance and air traffic management technology -- has now changed that situation entirely, according to the Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh.
CAAB spokesperson Kawsar Mahmud described the tower as one of the country’s most advanced aviation installations.
“This modern tower ensures safe take-off and landing operations while bringing the country’s entire airspace under surveillance,” he said.
The project was implemented under a government-to-government agreement between Bangladesh and France using technology supplied by French company Thales Group.
Initially estimated at around Tk730 crore, the project’s final cost later rose to Tk942 crore.
Officials said the upgraded system now allows real-time tracking and faster decision-making for air traffic controllers while improving regional connectivity coordination with neighboring countries including India and Myanmar.
The S-band primary radar provides surveillance coverage up to 80 nautical miles, while the Mode-S secondary surveillance radar extends coverage up to 200 nautical miles.
Aviation officials say Bangladesh’s strategic location between South Asia, Southeast Asia and the Middle East makes modern airspace management increasingly critical as international air traffic continues rising rapidly.
“For years, controllers managed growing traffic with limited radar support and outdated systems,” said Ragib Samad.
“In the face of rising air traffic, installing a modern air traffic management system had become unavoidable.”