Shah Amanat International Airport

Shah Amanat International Airport (Bengali:শাহ আমানত আন্তর্জাতিক বিমানবন্দর, Śhā Amānat Antarjātik Bimānabandar)
A view of the Terminal building and civil parking zone of the airport
IATA: CGP – ICAO: VGEG CGP Location of airport in Bangladesh
Summary
Airport type		Military/Public
Owner		Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh
Operator		Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh
Serves		Chittagong
Location		Patenga, Chittagong
Hub for		Biman Bangladesh Airlines GMG Airlines United Airways Regent Airways Bismillah Airlines
Elevation AMSL		12 ft / 4 m
Coordinates		22°14′59″N 91°48′48″E / 22.24972°N 91.81333°E / 22.24972; 91.81333 (Shah Amanat International Airport)Coordinates: 22°14′59″N 91°48′48″E / 22.24972°N 91.81333°E / 22.24972; 91.81333 (Shah Amanat International Airport)
Runways
Direction	Length		Surface
	ft	m
05/23	9,646	2,940	Concrete/Asphalt

Shah Amanat International Airport (IATA: CGP, ICAO: VGEG), (Bengali:শাহ আমানত আন্তর্জাতিক বিমানবন্দর, Śhā Amānat Antarjātik Bimānbandar) named after an Islamic saint, is an international airport serving Bangladesh's south-eastern port city of Chittagong and the Bangladesh Air Force. It is Bangladesh's second largest airport. It was formerly known as MA Hannan International Airport but was renamed on 2 April 2005 by the government of Bangladesh. The move was controversial since the previous name honored a member of the Awami League who were the opposition party at the time. The airport handles about 21% of Bangladesh's air traffic, almost 66% of it is handled by Shahjalal International Airport, Dhaka, nearly 4% by Osmani International Airport and the remaining 9% by Bangladesh's 5 domestic airports.

Location

The airport is located in the Patenga area of the city, 20 kilometers (13 mi; 11 NM) west from the city's main commercial hub, GEC Circle and 18.5 km south of the city's railway station on the North bank of the Karnaphuli River. There are no hotels or restaurants near the airport.

History

The airport was built in the early 1940s under the British rule, it officially became a Bangladeshi airport in 1972 after Bangladesh's liberation war. At first it was mainly used for connecting Dhaka and Chittagong, but in the mid 1990s Bangladesh Airlines started international flights to Dubai & a few Saudi Arabian cities and the airport officially became an international airport.

2005-06 Renovation and Expansion

A view of the Terminal and parking after the renovations

In 2005 a major renovation & expansion began at the airport, it ended in 2006. The Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh received financial assistance from the Japanese government for the upgrade.

The upgrade modernized the terminal building with new and better seats, more counters, better security equipment and many other facilities. The Air Traffic Control tower also received new hi-tech equipment such as 3-D radars. The runway, taxiway and the tarmac were expanded and improved.

The improvements turned the airport into a modern international airport. After the upgrade, any large aircraft such as the A380 or the Antonov An-225 could land easily.

Terminal, Airlines and destinations

The airport has one Terminal building divided into two parts; International and Domestic with a boarding bridge in each of them. The International part of the Terminal is larger in size compared to the Domestic one due to higher number of people flying to foreign destinations. The building is also divided into two floors; The lower floor is used for checking in, boarding or getting off small planes and receiving luggage while the upper floor is used for boarding or getting off large planes only.

Inside the terminal

A view of the Terminal building from a distance.

Airlines	Destinations
Air Arabia	Sharjah
Bahrain Air	Bahrain
Biman Bangladesh Airlines	Abu Dhabi, Bangkok-Suvarnabhumi, Cox's Bazar, Dammam, Dhaka, Doha, Dubai, Jeddah, Kuwait, Muscat, Riyadh
Etihad Airways	Abu Dhabi (via Dhaka)
GMG Airlines	Kolkata, Dhaka, Cox's Bazar, Bangkok-Suvarnabhumi
Flydubai	Dubai
RAK Airways	Ras Al Khaymah
Regent Airways	Dhaka
Oman Air	Muscat
United Airways	Dhaka, Dubai

Air Traffic Control tower

The airport's Air Traffic Control tower is located just 50 meters left of the airport terminal. It has a clear view of the tarmac and taxiway but is far away from the runway. Heavy rain or fog can make it difficult for controllers to see plains taking off or landing.

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  The Air traffic control tower and building of the airport (front view)

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  The Air traffic control tower and building of the airport (back view)

Facilities

Main Facilities

• Cargo Handling Facilities: Manual
• Fuel/oil type: SAG 100/130 octane, JET A-1, Av Gas 100 LL
• Re-Fueling rate: approximately 500 I.G. per minute per refueller
• Medical Facilities: First Aid treatment and two ambulances available at the airport.
• Fire Fighting: Category 7 (AD)
• Rescue Equipment: Category 7 (ICAO)
• Backup Power: Standby generator available

Parking Facilities

Like most airports, Shah Amanat airport has parking facilities for both cars and planes.

Planes

The tarmac, or aircraft parking zone of the airport is located directly behind the terminal and left of the runway. Up to 6 jumbo sized planes such as 747s can be parked at once there. The parking points are usually empty as most of the planes that arrive there takeoff soon after and the planes of local airlines are generally parked at Shahjalal International Airport overnight. A small civil plane hanger, belonging to Biman is available but is rarely used.

The Bangladesh military have a parking zone and 2 plane hangers right of the runway at the airport. The Bangladesh Air Force keep a few planes here which have direct access to runway.

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  One of Shah Amanat Aiport's aircraft parking points. This point is suitable for A300s, 747s and DC-10s.

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  A GMG Airlines MD-82 parked at the airport

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  A private Fokker F27 parked at Shah Amanat Airport

Cars

The civil car parking zone of the airport

Shah Amanat airport has three parking zones, one civil and two VIP. The civil one is located just in front of the terminal, it has a capacity of 360 cars. This zone is usually loaded with public transport, mostly auto-rickshaws and micro-buses. The zone is made of concrete and asphalt, surrounded by a grass patch.

Both VIP parking zones are located beside the terminal, one left and one right. The one on the left is for people who work at the airport or one of the airlines that use the airport, such as pilots or air traffic controllers. The other is used by the media or any celebrity.

Incidents and Accidents

• 23 March 2005: Inclement weather forced two Biman flights heading for Dhaka to make emergency landings at the airport.

• 1 July 2005: Flight BG048 from Dubai to Dhaka via Chittagong skidded off runway 23 onto the grass at Shah Amanat International Airport while landing during heavy rain. The right-hand undercarriage of the McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30 caught fire. Ten passengers were injured while exiting the aircraft. An enquiry found no faults with the aircraft and put the blame for the accident on the incompetence of the pilot, whose employment was later terminated.

• 10 September 2008: A bomb hoax on Air Arabia flight G90522 caused red alert at the airport. A flight attendant found a note on the plane saying "There is a bomb set", the captain alerted Air Traffic control for a possible emergency and received high-priority landing status at the airport. The plane was taken to the military zone of the airport where it was searched by bomb experts but no bomb was found. Later, all 81 passengers were asked to provide a handwriting sample and security officials arrested a Bangladeshi man who later confessed his crime.

• 13 October 2011: Regent Airways flight RX 719, a Dash 8 which was suppose to takeoff from Shahjalal International Airport, Dhaka bound for Chittagong at 7:40 pm had an engine failure before the flight. This had left about 50 passengers grounded at Dhaka and another 56 at Chittagong who were suppose to fly to Dhaka with the same plane as RX 720. The passengers in Dhaka finally took off at about 10:30 pm with Regent's other Dash 8, which was in Jessore during the incident. This incident caused a schedule chaos which had delayed many other Regent flights afterwards.

Access

The airport can be easily accessed by car or taxi thorough the city's Agrabad area.

World War II

Known as Chittagong Airfield during World War II, the airport was used as a combat airfield, as well as a supply point and photographic reconnaissance base by the United States Army Air Force Tenth Air Force during the Burma Campaign 1944-1945.^[1]

Known American units assigned to Chittagong were:

• 80th Fighter Group, flew P-38 Lightning fighters over Burma between March 1944 and February 1945.
• 8th Reconnaissance Group, between October and December 1944 (various detachments)
• 4th Combat Cargo Group, flew C-46 Commando transports between January and June 1945.

From the airport, the 4th CCG C-46's flew supplies and ammunition which were air-dropped to the advancing Allied forces on the ground. At the end of June, control of the airport was returned to local authorities.

Gallery

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  The 'sleepy' tarmac of the Airport and one of the two boarding bridges.

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  An United Airways Dash 8 heading for Dhaka before boarding.

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  A GMG Airlines Dash 8 takes off on a rainy day from the airport.

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  A GMG Airlines Dash-8 just before boarding.

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  A United Airways Fokker 27.

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  A GMG Airlines Dash 8 at Shah Amanat Airport which will fly to Kolkata.

References

World War II portal

 This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the Air Force Historical Research Agency.

1. ^ Maurer, Maurer. Air Force Combat Units Of World War II. Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama: Office of Air Force History, 1983. ISBN 0-89201-092-4

External links

• Airport information for VGEG at World Aero Data. Data current as of October 2006.
• Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh: Airports
• Live Flight Status