Security vulnerabilities at the cargo village of Dhaka’s Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport have long been a concern. Imported goods are often left scattered under the open sky, thefts are frequent, and the facility lacks a specialized firefighting unit and sufficient fire safety equipment. Business leaders and aviation experts believe these weaknesses were what allowed the October 18 fire at the cargo village to become so devastating. They also fear the incident has sent a negative message abroad regarding Bangladesh’s aviation sector.
The fire broke out at the airport’s import cargo complex around 2:15 pm on Saturday. A total of 37 units from the Fire Service & Civil Defence were deployed to control the blaze. Although the flames were brought under control by 9:18 pm that night, the Fire Service’s Director of Operations and Maintenance, Lt. Col. Mohammad Tajul Islam Chowdhury, declared the fire fully extinguished at 4:55 pm the next day, Sunday, October 19.
Kazi Wahidul Alam, a former board member of Biman Bangladesh Airlines and an aviation expert, blamed the absence of a specialized firefighting unit at the airport for the delay in dousing the fire. “Every year, the firefighting team at Dhaka airport conducts drills to deal with aircraft fires,” he told Bonik Barta. “They are trained specifically for aircraft-related incidents. Beyond that, there’s still no specialized firefighting team or system to protect the airport’s infrastructure. I’ve learned that a dedicated firefighting unit for the cargo village has been inactive for the past ten years.”
Highlighting the mismanagement within the cargo village, he said, “Only about 20 percent of goods in the import cargo complex are stored inside warehouses. The remaining 80 percent are left under the open sky in front of the sheds. A huge area is covered with imported cargo piled up haphazardly. I believe this disorganized storage hampered the firefighting operations. The lack of proper fire prevention measures led to such a massive disaster. In today’s world, it’s highly unusual for a fire at such a critical site like an international airport to burn for seven hours.”
Wahidul Alam added that the fire would likely tarnish the airport’s international image. “Any aviation-related incident spreads worldwide very quickly. The fire at Dhaka airport has already been widely covered by global media. Naturally, this will erode confidence. New airlines will think twice before starting operations here, and those already operating will be anxious. Overall, this incident will send a negative signal about Bangladesh to the outside world.”
Inamul Haq Khan, senior vice president of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), said valuable raw materials, export-ready apparel, and important sample goods were destroyed in the fire. A BGMEA delegation led by him visited the damaged site on Sunday afternoon. Speaking to reporters afterward, he said, “The fire at the airport’s cargo village is extremely unfortunate. BGMEA is deeply concerned about the incident. It has severely affected the country’s export trade, especially the apparel industry. Air shipments are typically used for high-value and urgent shipments, and those crucial goods have now been reduced to ashes.”
He said, “The most important issue is the loss of samples. These samples directly open the door to new business opportunities and are essential for business development. Losing them means facing the risk of missing out on future opportunities.”
Inamul Haque Khan said they were working to assess the extent of the damage and gather information. “We’ve sent letters to BGMEA members, asking them to submit lists of damaged goods in a prescribed format. An online data collection portal has also been launched to speed up the process. Most of our members use air shipment. Every day, products from about 200 to 250 factories are shipped by air. So the losses are quite significant,” he said.
Following the fire, the Dhaka Customs House has temporarily arranged for cargo handling through the equipment maintenance area. It has also connected the No. 9 Gate with the “ASYCUDA World Automation System” for physical inspection and customs clearance, according to a statement released Sunday evening by the National Board of Revenue’s (NBR) public relations office.
However, the Exporters Association of Bangladesh (EAB) and the Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA) accused the Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB) of repeatedly ignoring warnings about poor security management at the cargo village. “Last year, we met with the CAAB chairman to inform him about the irregularities and mismanagement at the cargo village,” said BKMEA and EAB President Mohammad Hatem. “We detailed how thefts and disorder take place there. The chairman assured us that an automatic storage system would be operational by February 2025, solving these problems. But February has passed, it’s now October, and there’s still no sign of that system.”
“The fire on Saturday has exposed just how weak the security at the cargo village really is,” Hatem said. “The two main hubs of our economy are Chattogram Port and the cargo village of Dhaka airport. Yet such a critical place had no proper fire safety measures. There wasn’t even enough water supply. We’ve heard that the fire service vehicles were delayed in entering the site. Questions are now being raised about whether the fire was premeditated. CAAB must explain why the fire trucks weren’t allowed in on time and why there was no adequate water supply in the cargo village area.”
Sk Bashir Uddin, adviser to the Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism, said the ministry would take the complaints about the airport’s firefighting and security systems seriously. After visiting the burned cargo village on October 19, he said, “The airport is a key point installation (KPI) area and has its own firefighting system. Our in-house firefighting unit arrived at the scene within 30 seconds of the fire starting. Still, all complaints that have surfaced will be reviewed, and necessary measures will be taken.”