The Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport (HSIA) authorities have been witnessing a massive rush of passengers for the last few days as people leaving the capital for their hometowns ahead of a nine-day holiday centring Eid-ul-Fitr.
Regular passengers and Eid holidaymakers are suffering in almost every single point starting from disruption of flight schedules to passenger handling services. Long queues of passengers are seen at check-in counters. People have to wait for a long time at the immigration and boarding bridge.
Barisal-bound Belal Hossain chose airway travel to avoid the heavy traffic and the hassles associated with it. However, he still had to endure hassles at the country’s largest airport.
“After standing in a queue for a long time and crossing the check-in counters, I found out that the flight would be delayed for about an hour and a half,” said a frustrated Belal, who was scheduled to board a flight of NovoAir at 10:30am on Friday morning.
Maya Akter Mim, who came from Dubai to celebrate Eid in Dhaka, landed at Dhaka airport with her family on Thursday.
"After completing the immigration procedure, we were looking for a vehicle to carry our luggage but there was a huge line. So, we had to walk to Dhaka-Mymensingh highway just to hire a car," she told this correspondent over the phone.
According to the airport authorities, the pressure on domestic and international flights and passenger sufferings will come down once the 24-hour flight schedules resume.
Currently, the flight operations are suspended for eight hours from midnight due to the construction work of the third terminal and lighting of the taxiway. The 24-hour flight operation is scheduled to start again in mid-May.
Speaking to Dhaka Tribune, HSIA Executive Director Group Captain Muhammed Kamrul Islam claimed all sectors are ready to deal with the heavy rush during the Eid holidays.
However, due to the 16-hour flight schedule, passengers had to arrive at the airport six hours earlier and this is why the airport authorities are struggling to tackle the huge crowd, he said.
In addition, on the occasion of Eid, all three domestic airlines are operating additional flights which is also increasing pressure. "We are trying to provide all kinds of facilities within our capacity," he added.
80 to 90 flights a day
Currently, around 40 domestic and international airline services are operating an average of 80 to 90 flights every day carrying around 10,000 to 12,000 passengers to and from Dhaka airport, according to the Civil Aviation Authority Bangladesh.
CAAB estimates that the number of passengers may exceed 16,000 to 18,000 in the next seven days due to the Eid rush.
Around 11 flights took off within two hours on Thursday evening, hampering airport operations as the authorities couldn't ensure additional facilities for the passengers and the carriers, said sources at the airport.
Several passengers complained that they had to suffer delays at the airport due to a lack of manpower, additional ground handling facilities, and other necessary services.
They also said signs of mismanagement were everywhere at the airport, including inside and outside the terminal.
There are currently four car rental agencies working at the airport, but the number of vehicles still falls short due to the heavy rush.
Increased domestic flights
Each of the domestic operators has increased their flights by around 10% keeping in mind the Eid holidays.
NovoAir has increased two flights on Saidpur, Jessore, and Barisal routes while three on Rajshahi route. A total of 1,700 to 1,800 passengers are carried per day on 29 flights.
US Bangla Airlines is carrying around 2,600 passengers by operating 36 flights per day with the carrier increasing three flights on Rajshahi route and two flights on Saidpur route.
Meanwhile, Biman Bangladesh Airlines also increased one or two flights on all domestic routes as per the passenger demands.
