Flights Continue at Chattogram Airport Despite Heavy Rain
Chattogram Shah Amanat International Airport — Collected
Torrential rain has caused waterlogging across the city. Water has also accumulated in the cargo storage yards of Chattogram Port. Surprisingly, flight operations at Chattogram’s Shah Amanat International Airport remained normal. All 26 flights scheduled between Wednesday morning and 4 pm landed on time. No flights were canceled or diverted.
Passengers who had suffered disruptions on Tuesday because of schedule irregularities were comparatively relieved on Wednesday.
Engineer Ibrahim Khalil, spokesperson for Chattogram Airport, said wind speeds had reached 90 kilometers per hour on Tuesday. On Wednesday, the speed dropped to 25 kilometers per hour. “For this reason, despite the heavy rain, flight operations remained completely normal,” he said.
Water would normally be expected to accumulate on the runway because of such heavy rainfall. He added that the runway was raised by two feet two years ago. The drainage system was also improved under the same project. As a result, no water accumulated on the runway.
The airport authority implemented the runway and taxiway strengthening project at a cost of Tk 6.22 billion. Under the same project, the airport’s lighting system was modernized. As a result, aircraft operations, particularly during adverse weather conditions, have become smoother than before.
However, heavy rain on Monday night caused water to accumulate in the parking area in front of the airport terminal, creating significant inconvenience for passengers. Since Tuesday, however, water has no longer accumulated there.
According to the airport authority, several sluice gates are in place to allow water to drain from the parking area. Those gates are operated by the City Corporation. Since the gates were opened on Tuesday, water has not accumulated again.
A total of 1.668 million passengers uses the airport annually. More than 19,000 domestic and international flights carry passengers through the airport each year. The airport handles 21 percent of the country’s total air passengers. In addition to passenger services, it is also capable of transporting nearly 6,000 tons of cargo annually.
