Barishal Airport

Barishal Airport বরিশাল বিমানবন্দর
IATA: BZL ICAO: VGBR
Summary
Airport type	Public
Operator	Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh
Serves	Barishal & Kuakata
Elevation AMSL	10 ft / 3 m
Coordinates	22°48′04″N 90°18′04″E
Website	barisalairport.com
Map
BZL Location of airport in Bangladesh
Runways
Direction Length Surface ft m 17/35 5,995 1,827 Asphalt
Statistics (January 2018 – January 2018)
Passengers 46,767
Source: CEIC[1] SkyVector[2]

Barishal Airport (IATA: BZL, ICAO: VGBR) is a domestic airport in Bangladesh serving the southern city of Barishal as well as Barishal division.[3] The airport is located 12 km north of Barishal city centre just beside Dhaka - Barishal Highway.

Location

The airport is located close to Barisal city in Rahamatpur area of Babuganj Upazila.[3]

History

Before it was re-constructed, there was a huge demand for an airport in the region, for quicker travel to the capital Dhaka.[3] Local organisations held many strikes and demonstrations to press for its construction.[3] The airport was finally built in 1985 on 163 acres of land, at a cost of BDT 4 million.[3] It was officially inaugurated by the then president Abdur Rahman Biswas on 3 December 1995.[3] Aero Bengal Airlines, a private airline, was the first airline to launch flights to the airport.[3] The national carrier, Biman, started their services in November 1995.[3]

In 2007, the airport played a significant role during the relief operation in the aftermath of Cyclone Sidr in November 2007, thus virtually saving thousands of lives of the cyclone-affected people. The airport was instrumental in international relief goods, including drinking water, rice, blankets and other life-saving materials, reaching the devastated victims of the cyclone.[3][4]

In April 2015, the national carrier Biman Bangladesh Airlines resumed weekly flights after nine years.[5]

Statistics

The airport has served 158,987 passengers between 1995 and 2009. Over 20,000 flights including passengers, training, cargo and other flights had operated from the airport.[3] The airport saw highest number of passengers in 1999 and highest number of flights in the year 2000.[3]

Airlines and destinations

Airlines	Destinations	Refs.
Biman Bangladesh Airlines	Dhaka	[6]
Novoair	Dhaka	[7]
US-Bangla Airlines	Dhaka	[8]

See also

• List of airports in Bangladesh

References

1. "Bangladesh Air Traffic Movement: Passenger: Aerodrome: Barisal". Retrieved 10 January 2020.
2. "VGBR: Barishal Airport". SkyVector. 27 February 2020. Retrieved 2 March 2020.
3. "Staff on rolls, Barishal airport stuck". The Independent. Dhaka. 4 August 2011. Retrieved 2 March 2013.
4. M Jasimuddin (5 April 2019). "৩৪ বছরেও পূর্ণতা পায়নি বরিশাল বিমানবন্দর". Prothom Alo (in Bengali).
5. "Biman resumes flights to Barishal". The Daily Star. 9 April 2015. Retrieved 9 April 2015.
6. "Flight Schedule -Biman Bangladesh". www.biman-airlines.com. Retrieved 11 January 2020.
7. চট্টগ্রাম ও বরিশালে ফ্লাইট বাড়াল নভোএয়ার. প্রথম আলো (in Bengali). Retrieved 29 December 2019.
8. সৈয়দপুর, রাজশাহী ও বরিশালে ইউএস বাংলার অতিরিক্ত ফ্লাইট. প্রথম আলো (in Bengali). Retrieved 11 December 2019.

External links

• Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh: Airports