The government has withdrawn its decision to designate Cox’s Bazar Airport as an international airport, only 12 days after officially granting the status. Sk Bashir Uddin, the adviser to the civil aviation ministry, confirmed the reversal to Bonik Barta.
The previous administration had launched the airport’s expansion in 2021 as part of a broader plan to attract foreign tourists to the country’s main beach destination. Under the project, the runway was extended from 6,775 feet to 9,000 feet to meet international standards. Construction continued even after the recent political transition, with Chief Adviser Dr. Muhammad Yunus inspecting progress in March 2025.
Senior officials from the Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB), including Adviser Sk Bashir Uddin, made several visits to monitor the work, which was nearing completion. On October 12, the government issued a gazette notification formally declaring Cox’s Bazar the country’s fourth international airport.
Project Director Md Younus Bhuiyan said the expansion was “almost complete,” noting that the runway and most of the heavy infrastructure were finished. “The airport is ready for both domestic and international flights,” he told Bonik Barta. He added that minor finishing work, such as boundary wall construction, was underway and that the suspension of international status had no link to the project’s progress.
Officials familiar with the matter said the reversal followed tepid interest from airlines in launching international services from Cox’s Bazar. While airports in Chattogram and Sylhet already handle limited international flights, carriers viewed operations from Cox’s Bazar as commercially unviable. State-owned Biman Bangladesh Airlines had planned to start flights on the Dhaka–Kolkata route later this month, but the airport lost its international designation before any such flight could begin.
When contacted, newly appointed CAAB Chairman Air Vice Marshal Md Mostafa Mahmood Siddiq said, “I can’t comment at this moment.”
Bangladesh currently has three international airports: Hazrat Shahjalal in Dhaka, Shah Amanat in Chattogram, and Osmani in Sylhet.