| Shah Amanat International Airport (Bengali:শাহ আমানত আন্তর্জাতিক বিমানবন্দর, Śhā Amānat Antarjātik Bimānabandar) | |||
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| A view of the Terminal building and civil parking zone of the airport | |||
| IATA: CGP – ICAO: VGEG
CGP
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| 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 |
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| Elevation AMSL | 12 ft / 4 m | ||
| 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.
Shah Amanat Airport is known by several other names. They include; Hazrat Shah Amanat Airport, Patenga Airport, Chittagong Airport and S.A.I.A.
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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.
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 and a few Saudi Arabian cities and the airport officially became an international airport.
In 2005, a major renovation and 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.
In early 2012, it was announced that the airport would undergo second renovations to upgrade it to a category 2 airport. The renovating would; add 2 more boarding bridges, extend the runway to a length of 3200 meters (3.2 km, 10,500 ft), taxiways would be extended to full length and the tarmac would be expanded. The renovation is expected to begin towards the end of 2012 although no date has been announced yet.
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.
| Airlines | Destinations |
|---|---|
| Air Arabia | Sharjah |
| Biman Bangladesh Airlines | Abu Dhabi, Bangkok-Suvarnabhumi, Cox's Bazar, Dammam, Dhaka, Doha, Dubai, Jeddah, Kuwait, Muscat, Riyadh |
| Etihad Airways | Abu Dhabi [1] |
| GMG Airlines | Kolkata, Dhaka |
| Flydubai | Dubai |
| RAK Airways | Ras Al Khaymah |
| Regent Airways | Dhaka |
| Oman Air | Muscat |
| United Airways | Dhaka, Dubai |
^1 Etihad Airways service Chittagong to Abu Dhabi routes via Dhaka, however they don't have traffic rights between Dhaka and Chittagong.
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 taxiways but is far away from the runway. Heavy rain or fog can make it difficult for controllers to see planes taking off or landing.
Like most airports, Shah Amanat airport has parking facilities for both cars and 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 hangar, belonging to Biman is available but is rarely used.
The Bangladesh military have a parking zone and two plane hangars right of the runway at the airport. The Bangladesh Air Force keep a few planes here which have direct access to runway.
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.
The airport can be easily accessed by car or taxi thorough the city's Agrabad area.
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.[2]
Known American units assigned to Chittagong were:
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.
This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the Air Force Historical Research Agency.
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