Flights are operating amid risk at the Barisal Airport due to lack of lighting on the runway and other facilities.
Biman Bangladesh Airlines resumed flights on the Dhaka-Barisal-Dhaka route on April 8 this year, eight years after the flight was suspended.
On April 12, flight BG-469 of the Biman Bangladesh Airlines landed on the airport with 74 passengers at 5:55pm and return flight BG-470 left for Dhaka with 63 passengers within 30 minutes, said Md Hanif Gazi, aerodrome officer and manager of the airport.
Nasimul Alam, a journalist and a passenger of the flight BG-469 said on April 12 the sky was cloudy and visibility was low. The return flight took off amid risk. Currently, flights from Barisal Airport are not allowed to operate after 6:15pm because of lack of lighting on the runway, he claimed.
“The condition will deteriorate further during winter and monsoon,” he said.
Denying such claim, Md Hanif Gazi said on April 12, the flight BG-470 left for Dhaka before sunset amid clear visibility and upon clearance from the civil aviation.
However, he acknowledged that proper lighting on the runway and uncut power supply through IPS were urgently needed for smooth execution of flights from the airport.
The airport manager and sources at the Biman Bangladesh Airlines said Minister for Civil Aviation and Tourism Rashed Khan Menon had submitted a Tk5 crore project plan for immediate development of the airport on April 8, however, the proposal still lied under consideration of the ministry.
The manager also informed that an air-strip on 50 acres of land was built in the late 60s for operating planes to spray pesticides in Rahamatpur under Babuganj upazila on the Barisal-Dhaka highway, some 17km away from the city.
The civil aviation authority later acquired more 110 acres of land and constructed 1800ft long and 60ft wide runway in 1968. A STOL (Short Take Off and Landing) service on the Dhaka–Barisal-Dhaka route continued for a few days in January, 1971.
After liberation, in the fiscal year 1992-93, Civil Aviation of Bangladesh (CAB) expanded the war-damaged 1800 ft runway to 6000 ft long and 100ft wide with Tk30 crore.
Biman started its flight operation with ATP aircraft on Dhaka-Barisal-Dhaka route on December 3, 1995 and after many breaks finally stopped operation on this route on November 16, 2006.
Aero Bengal, Parabat, GMG, United Airways also phased out flights to Barisal due to shortage of passengers. The airport was also used by the foreign cargo planes for sending relief materials to 11 southern districts after the devastating Sidr in 2007.
