Cox's Bazar International Airport
Cox's Bazar International Airport কক্সবাজার আন্তর্জাতিক বিমানবন্দর | |||||||||||
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| Summary | |||||||||||
| Airport type | Public | ||||||||||
| Owner | People's Republic of Bangladesh | ||||||||||
| Operator | Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh | ||||||||||
| Serves | Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh | ||||||||||
| Elevation AMSL | 12 ft / 4 m | ||||||||||
| Coordinates | 21°27′07″N 091°57′50″E / 21.45194°N 91.96389°E | ||||||||||
| Website | www | ||||||||||
| Map | |||||||||||
CXB Location of airport in Bangladesh | |||||||||||
| Runways | |||||||||||
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| Statistics (December 2024) | |||||||||||
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| Source:[1] | |||||||||||
Cox's Bazar International Airport[2][a] (IATA: CXB, ICAO: VGCB) is an airport in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh. The airport serves the residents of Cox's Bazar as well as tourists to the region. It became the country's fourth international airport on 13 October 2025,[3][4][5] before its "international" status has been stripped on 24 October.[6][7]
History
During World War II, the British Raj established an airfield near Cox's Bazar. It was converted into a domestic airport by the central government of Pakistan in 1956, seven years after the city was incorporated into the Pakistani province of East Bengal (later East Pakistan).[8] The airport was damaged during the Bangladesh Liberation War and was renovated and reopened in 1972.[9] According to civil aviation sources, in 2009, the government had planned to rapidly modernise the airport to accommodate fighter jets, if required.[10]
Expansion and development
Plans to upgrade Cox's Bazar Airport into an international facility began in 2012.[11][12][13] The development is being carried out in two phases, intended to improve aircraft handling capacity and accommodate wide-body planes. The upgrade's initial cost was ৳3 billion (US$25 million).[14]
In the initial stage of construction, the runway was extended "6,775 feet to 9,000 feet in length and from 120 feet to 200 feet in width".[15] Additionally, its load-bearing strength and lighting systems were upgraded, and "Doppler VHF Omni-direction Range and distance measurement equipment" were installed.[16] Fueling services, under the operation of Standard Asiatic Oil Company Limited, a subsidiary of Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation, began in February 2017.[17]
The second phase of expansion involves adding another 1,700 feet to the runway.[15] "Officials said a 1,300-foot stretch of the runway's expanded portion would be under the sea"; construction will add "blocks in the sea" which is the first time this technique will be used in Bangladesh.[15]
On 13 October 2025, the Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism issued a notification declaring the airport as an international airport.[3] Eleven days later, on 24 October, the government suspended the gazette that declared the airport as an international one before its first flight took off due to local and foreign airlines showing no interest in launching flights to Cox's Bazar, finding them commercially unviable.[6][7]
Airlines and destinations
Passenger
| Airlines | Destinations |
|---|---|
| Air Astra | Chittagong, Dhaka, Sylhet |
| Biman Bangladesh Airlines | Dhaka, Saidpur |
| Novoair | Dhaka, Jessore, Rajshahi |
| US-Bangla Airlines | Dhaka, Rajshahi |
Incidents and accidents
- On 9 March 2016, an Antonov An-26 of True Aviation crashed into the Bay of Bengal shortly after take-off.[18]
See also
Notes
References
- ^ "Bangladesh Air Traffic Movement: Passenger: Aerodrome: Cox's Bazar". Retrieved 10 January 2020.
- ^ "CAAB - Home". ops.caab.gov.bd. Retrieved 21 April 2025.
- ^ a b "কক্সবাজার বিমানবন্দরকে আন্তর্জাতিক বিমানবন্দর ঘোষণা". Dhaka Post (in Bengali). 12 October 2025.
- ^ কক্সবাজার বিমানবন্দর আন্তর্জাতিক হচ্ছে, তবে নেই কোনো এয়ারলাইন. The Business Standard (in Bengali). 2 September 2025. Retrieved 3 September 2025.
- ^ "Cox's Bazar Airport declared international". The Business Standard. 13 October 2025. Retrieved 13 October 2025.
- ^ a b "Cox's Bazar Airport loses 'international' status just 11 days after upgrade". The Business Standard. 24 October 2025. Retrieved 24 October 2025.
- ^ a b "Govt decides to suspend gazette declaring Cox's Bazar Airport as international". BDNews24. 24 October 2025. Retrieved 24 October 2025.
- ^ Barua, Sunil (3 August 2023). সাগরজলে দেশের দীর্ঘতম রানওয়ে চালু হচ্ছে ডিসেম্বরে. Banglanews24.com (in Bengali). Retrieved 25 August 2023.
- ^ ২০২৪ সালের জুনে আন্তর্জাতিক ফ্লাইট ওঠানামা করবে কক্সবাজার বিমানবন্দরে. Cox's Bangla (in Bengali). 7 August 2023. Retrieved 25 August 2023.
- ^ "PM wants fighter base at Cox's Bazar: report". bdnews24.com. 6 September 2009. Retrieved 2 October 2014.
- ^ "'Cox's Bazar Airport to be made international one'". The Daily Star. 4 March 2012. Archived from the original on 22 December 2015. Retrieved 11 April 2012.
- ^ "Cox's Bazar International airport to be upgraded: Minister". The Daily Star. 26 March 2012. Archived from the original on 11 June 2015. Retrieved 11 April 2012.
- ^ "Expansion work of Cox's Bazar International airport to start this year: Minister". The Financial Express. Dhaka. 25 March 2012. Retrieved 11 April 2012.
- ^ "Steps taken to upgrade Cox's Bazar International Airport". The News Today. 25 April 2012. Retrieved 11 April 2012.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link) - ^ a b c "PM to open Cox's Bazar Airport runway expansion project Sunday". The Business Standard. 27 August 2021. Retrieved 13 April 2023.
- ^ "$200m Chinese loan for Cox's Bazar International Airport dev". The Financial Express. Dhaka. 26 October 2012. Archived from the original on 28 October 2012. Retrieved 11 April 2012.
- ^ "Aviation Refueling at Cox Bazar Airport" (Press release). Standard Asiatic Oil Company Limited. February 2017. Archived from the original on 28 July 2018. Retrieved 14 September 2025.
- ^ "Russian pilot dead as cargo plane crashes into sea in Bangladesh". Xinhua. 9 March 2016. Archived from the original on 10 March 2016. Retrieved 25 January 2020.