People wait at Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka, ahead of a nine-hour daily shutdown of operations yesterday. The shutdown will continue for more than five months. Passengers arrived at the airport much earlier than before, fearing hassles.
Flights in and out of Shahjalal International Airport were operated smoothly yesterday ahead of a nine-hour daily shutdown of operations for more than five months for maintenance work.
The daily airport traffic that consists of 185 flights, including 90 international ones, and around 15,000 passengers in 24 hours will now have to be dealt within the 15-hour window.
Yesterday was the first day of the shortened operating hours, and many passengers said they did not experience any inconvenience, even though the airport looked crowded.
“It took me an hour to come out of the airport after completing all formalities,” Ershad Hossain who travelled from Riyadh to Dhaka told The Daily Star.
There was no unusual queue in front of the immigration and customs desks, he said.
There was less traffic on the road to the airport yesterday, as it was a weekly holiday.
Fearing to be a victim of traffic jam, some passengers came to the airport much earlier than they were asked to report.
Abdus Salam, who is supposed to fly to Riyadh at 8:30pm by a flight of Biman Bangladesh, said he reached the airport at 1:30pm, as he started earlier from his village home in Narsingdhi to avoid traffic jam.
Source: The Daily Star
