Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport earned Tk805.02 crore in overflight fees from foreign airlines using Bangladesh’s airspace in the last fiscal year, according to a report published by the airport’s executive director’s office.
The airport earned Tk388.10 crore in overflight fees between July and December 2025 and Tk416.91 crore between January and June 2026.
Officials attributed the increase in revenue partly to the commissioning of a new air traffic control (ATC) tower at the airport.
The tower has strengthened surveillance of the country’s airspace and improved the collection of overflight charges, they said.
Work on installing the advanced radar system was completed in December 2025, after which the ATC tower became operational.
The tower was formally inaugurated on April 20 by then civil aviation and tourism minister Afroza Khanam.
Revenue breakdown
According to the report, the Dhaka airport earned Tk388.10 crore in overflight fees during the first six months of FY2025-26.
The monthly figures were Tk48.19 crore in July, Tk44.75 crore in August, Tk86.63 crore in September, Tk73.65 crore in October, Tk62.11 crore in November and Tk72.77 crore in December.
Revenue increased to Tk416.91 crore in the following six months.
The airport earned Tk80.17 crore in January, Tk69.58 crore in February, Tk62.18 crore in March, Tk67.53 crore in April, Tk70.48 crore in May and Tk67 crore in June.
Aviation analysts said Bangladesh’s geographical importance in international air routes is increasing, with more international flights using its airspace. They said the resulting overflight revenue is contributing positively to the country’s economy.
Dhaka airport Executive Director SM Ragib Samad said collection of overflight charges had increased since the new ATC tower became operational.
“This is a success of the tower,” he said.
He said the entire country’s airspace is now under 100% surveillance, making it impossible for a flight to enter Bangladeshi airspace without being detected by the radar system.
CAAB spokesperson Kawsar Mahmud said the advanced technology at the tower allows flights to take off and land safely while bringing the country’s entire airspace under surveillance.
“No flight entering Bangladesh’s airspace will remain outside surveillance,” he said.
Older radar system
The previous radar and navigation system was outdated and could not provide surveillance coverage across the entire country, particularly over the Bay of Bengal.
As a result, Bangladesh was also losing revenue because, under international regulations, airlines are required to pay fees when their aircraft use another country’s airspace.
Bangladesh was unable to collect the overflight charge for some airspace usage under the previous system, officials said. The new system has enabled the country to collect the fees while establishing full surveillance over its airspace.
ATC tower project
On September 10, 2018, the French Embassy in Bangladesh proposed that Thales, a leading French company, install radar and Communication, Navigation and Surveillance-Air Traffic Management (ATM-CNS) systems, along with an ATC tower and ATM operations centre.
On May 8, 2019, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs approved the proposal for implementation under a government-to-government (G2G) arrangement to ensure international aviation safety standards.
The government subsequently formed a G2G committee and a technical subcommittee and sought the International Civil Aviation Organization’s (ICAO) opinion on the technical proposal.
The G2G committee approved the technical proposal on September 20, 2020. The financial proposal was opened on October 29, and Bangladesh and France signed a memorandum of understanding on November 3. The financial subcommittee submitted its evaluation report on December 14.
Financial negotiations were held from December 22-24, 2020, with the proposal later finalised online. The relevant ministry approved it on January 4, 2021.
The government subsequently decided that the project would be implemented with the agency’s own funds rather than government financing. The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs gave in-principle approval for this arrangement on March 31, 2021.
The project was completed in December 2025.
The G2G project to install the ATM-CNS system initially cost around Tk730 crore and was financed by CAAB. The cost later rose to Tk942 crore due to various factors.
Surveillance boon
The S-band primary radar provides coverage of up to 80 nautical miles, while the Mode-S secondary surveillance radar provides coverage of up to 200 nautical miles.
CAAB officials said the project will strengthen surveillance and communication capabilities across Bangladesh’s airspace, including the Bay of Bengal. It has also paved the way for implementing Air Traffic Services Inter-Facility Data Communication with Kolkata and Yangon.
They said such communication was essential for establishing seamless air traffic connectivity in the region.
The new technology provides air traffic controllers with real-time information and improved monitoring, enabling faster decision-making and more effective traffic management. This is expected to improve aviation safety, streamline flight operations and enable more efficient use of the country’s airspace.
CAAB officials said that despite having no ATC automation for the past 54 years, air traffic controllers and CNS engineers had worked tirelessly to maintain safe operations using very high frequency communication and limited radar coverage in Dhaka.
Why the ATC system was needed
Dhaka airport Executive Director Group Captain SM Ragib Samad said Bangladesh’s geographical location makes its airspace strategically important.
“Bangladesh is located at the crossroads of South Asia, Southeast Asia and the Middle East, so numerous international flights use our airspace every day,” he said.
He said air traffic over Bangladesh had been steadily increasing with the growth of international trade, tourism, expatriate travel and regional connectivity.
“A modern, technology-driven air traffic management system was essential to efficiently handle this growing traffic,” he said.
The previous air traffic control system was around four decades old, while the radar was around 35 years old. Aviation technology, systems and procedures have changed significantly during that period, making the installation of a modern air traffic management system essential to handle growing air traffic, he said.
“We are now seeing the results,” he added.
