‘Sharjah Model’ could shape Chattogram Airport

When Dubai International Airport became the world’s top transit point for passenger airlines, another city in the United Arab Emirates, Sharjah, achieved success with a completely different strategy. In contrast to Dubai’s mega passenger hub, Sharjah Airport transformed itself into one of the Middle East’s leading air cargo and logistics hubs. The distance between Dubai and Sharjah is 29 kilometres. A similar equation appears possible for Bangladesh’s Chattogram as well.

From Chattogram, the flight time to India’s Kolkata, the seven sister states, Nepal, Bhutan, Thailand, Vietnam, Myanmar, and China’s Kunming and Guangzhou ranges from just 40 minutes to 3.5 hours. This distance gives Chattogram a major geographical advantage to become an effective regional logistics hub.

Bangladesh’s economy is heavily dependent on the ready‑made garment sector for foreign exchange earnings. For a long time, policymakers have been looking for new promising sectors beyond this industry. In particular, there is immense potential for Bangladesh to become a centre of air commerce in Southeast Asia. If this potential can be utilised, cargo pressure on Dhaka will decrease. Then Shah Amanat International Airport in Chattogram could be reshaped according to the ‘Sharjah Model’, opening new horizons for international trade. However, the success of creating a truly international hub will depend on the ‘forward‑looking vision’ of the government’s policymakers.

What does the ‘Sharjah Model’ mean? Around the 1990s, facing the rapid growth and dominance of Dubai International Airport, Sharjah Airport completely withdrew from the competition to become a conventional passenger hub. It established a different business strategy, naming it the ‘Air Cargo and Logistics‑First Business Model’. Instead of chasing large and expensive passenger airlines, Sharjah focused on becoming a low‑cost cargo hub and achieved success. Broadly, the government of that country took four major policy decisions.

Sharjah adopted an ‘Open Sky’ policy without any complex bureaucratic conditions. Under this benefit, any airline that wished could land at the airport. Compared to other neighbouring airports, they reduced terminal handling fees, ground handling charges, and landing fees by up to 30%. As a result, airlines from Asia, Eastern European countries, and Africa chose Sharjah to save on logistics costs.

To make full use of its geographical advantages, Sharjah introduced a special ‘Sea‑to‑Air’ cargo corridor at the airport. Goods arriving from ports on the Arabian Sea and the Persian Gulf – such as Mina Khalid and Khor Fakkan – could be cleared through customs within a few hours, brought to the airport, loaded onto aircraft, and sent to various parts of the world, creating one of the fastest logistics systems.

On vacant land adjacent to the airport, a ‘Free Trade Safe Zone’ was set up to build a logistics hub. Through this, international airlines, cargo agents, and logistics firms were offered 100% foreign ownership, tax exemptions, and rapid licensing facilities. In terms of infrastructure, Sharjah authorities did not make any major investments from their own funds. Likewise, no large‑scale capital expenditure was required for the airport itself. As a result, the airport became not just a flight centre but a hub for cargo processing and re‑export. Moreover, Sharjah Airport organised its operational efficiency so that after landing, aircraft could take off again in the shortest possible time – about 25 to 30 minutes. This reduced operating costs for airlines. Foreign cargo airlines readily embraced this unique business model.

Within just three years of launching this model, Germany's famous Lufthansa Cargo chose Sharjah Airport as its main cargo transit hub in Asia. Following that, global cargo giants such as Singapore Airlines, UPS, Cathay Pacific, and EVA Air began turning their attention to Sharjah. Within seven years, it became the top cargo hub in the Middle East.

Building on that success, the Sharjah authorities turned their attention to low‑budget passenger transport. In 2003, they entrusted the management of Sharjah Airport to Air Arabia, the Middle East's first low‑cost airline. Air Arabia established the airport as its hub, and today it operates flights from Sharjah to 110 destinations worldwide.

Before 1990, Sharjah Airport handled an average of 50,000 to 80,000 tons of cargo per year. Its small cargo terminal lacked even cold storage or large express courier facilities. After the new business model was introduced, cargo handling jumped to 600,000 tons in 1999. By 2025, the airport handled over 2 million tons of cargo.

Before 1990, the airport handled just over 600,000 passengers annually. By 1999, it reached the milestone of 1 million passengers per year. After Air Arabia took over operations in 2003, passenger numbers reached 2.5 million in 2006. In 2015, the record stood at an average of 10 million. A decade later, in 2025, Sharjah International Airport recorded approximately 20 million passenger movements.

Sri Lanka's Colombo has also set a precedent by applying the same strategy as Sharjah. In terms of geographical location and industrial infrastructure, Chattogram enjoys similar advantages. Chattogram Seaport is adjacent to Shah Amanat International Airport. The tunnel under the Karnaphuli River directly connects the airport to the Anwara industrial zone, the China Economic and Industrial Zone, and the Korean EPZ. Chattogram also hosts the country's largest EPZ. To the north, the Mirsharai Economic Zone is already linked to the airport by road. To the south, the country's first deep‑sea port, Matarbari, is being developed, which will be directly connected to Chattogram Port by sea. All in all, many see great potential for creating a logistics corridor around Chattogram Airport.

Specific planning, government policy support, and far‑sighted thinking can lead to the pinnacle of success, and Air Arabia is a prime example, said Abdus Salam, Managing Director of Asian Group, a readymade garment businessman. He commented, "The time has come to utilise the geographical advantages of Chattogram Airport to move the country forward."

The first foreign airline at Chattogram Airport was Silk Air. At that time, the organisation's Chattogram chief was Sohel Majid, now Director (Marketing) of the domestic airline Novoair. In his view, "Now is the best time to turn Chattogram Airport into a logistics hub by leveraging the seaport. If some policy strategies are announced, countries like China, Hong Kong, and various Middle Eastern nations will respond immediately. This will create a unique example in the country."

Ahmed Yusuf Walid is the CEO of Galaxy Bangladesh Group. He is the GSA (General Sales Agent) for several international airlines, including Qatar Airways, Saudia Airlines, Oman Air, Thai Airways, Jazeera Airways, and EPP. His advice is, "If ground handling charges are reduced along with the landing and parking fees at Chattogram Airport, foreign cargo airlines will certainly come. And after many foreign passenger airlines withdrew their services from Chattogram, my observation is that if these passenger flights are given incentives, all airlines will return to Chattogram. They will operate flights from Dhaka as well as from Chattogram. The government could make an excellent start in this way. Then Chattogram will naturally become a hub."

To attract foreign airlines to Chattogram, the Chattogram Chamber has submitted a five‑point proposal to Finance Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury, including a 40% discount on aeronautical charges, round‑the‑clock airport services, and the construction of a cargo village through public‑private partnership. Chamber President Mohammad Amirul Haq said, "First, announce policy support. Lay out various term plans. Invite proposals from domestic and foreign entrepreneurs for building the cargo village. You will see many coming forward. Sharjah did not become a logistics hub overnight. There should be no more delay; we must start now."

Habib Ullah Don, Chairman of Amnester Solutions Limited, GSA for China Southern Airlines, has agreed to start both passenger and cargo flights from Chattogram. He said, "We are currently assessing market feasibility for starting flights from Chattogram on various routes. Once we receive the report, our airline will be able to operate two to three weekly flights to different destinations in China."