Osmani International Airport

Osmani International Airport, Sylhet ওসমানী আন্তর্জাতিক বিমানবন্দর, সিলেট
Night view of Osmani International Airport
IATA: ZYL ICAO: VGSY
Summary
Airport type	Public, military
Owner	Government of Bangladesh
Operator	Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh
Serves	Sylhet
Location	Airport Rd, Sylhet 3101, Bangladesh
Hub for	Biman Bangladesh Airlines
Focus city for	Air Astra Novoair US-Bangla Airlines
Elevation AMSL	50 ft / 15 m
Coordinates	24°57′48″N 91°52′01″E
Website	oia.gov.bd
Map
ZYL Location of airport in Bangladesh
Runways
Direction Length Surface ft m 11/29 10,236 3,120 Asphalt/Concrete
Statistics (January – December 2022)
Passengers 634,031 <!--Do not change or remove the figures, these are strictly as per the sources mentioned below and changing them will cause conflicting with sources.-->
Source:<ref>"Bangladesh Air Traffic Movement: Passenger: Aerodrome: Osmani". Retrieved 22 February 2022.</ref> Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh<ref>"Aerodrome Information: Osmani Airport, Sylhet". Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh. Archived from the original on 21 October 2017. Retrieved 16 October 2012.</ref>

Osmani International Airport, Sylhet (IATA: ZYL, ICAO: VGSY), is the third largest airport in Bangladesh after Dhaka and Chittagong. The airport is operated by the Civil Aviation Authority and is served by Biman Bangladesh Airlines, the national airline, which at one point earned most of its revenue from this airport. Private airlines Novoair and US-Bangla Airlines operate domestic flights to Dhaka.<ref>"Sylhet Osmani airport a nightmare for passengers". The Daily Star. 13 July 2003. Retrieved 23 May 2007.</ref>

History

Apron view

Interior view

Osmani International Airport was built during the British rule of the Indian Subcontinent, partly to check Japanese aggression from Burma . The airport was formerly known as Sylhet Civil Airport but was renamed after General M A G Osmani, Commander in Chief of Independence War of Bangladesh as well as of Muktijuddho, in 1971.

The airport was initially served by domestic flights from Shahjalal International Airport by the country's national airline Biman Bangladesh Airlines . After many years of lobbying by expatriates living in the UK, limited expansion of the airport was carried out to enable medium-sized aircraft, such as the Airbus A310 used by Biman, to operate . The work was completed in October 2002 and the airport was designated an international airport by the government. . However, the airport was not up to international standards to be capable of fully accommodating international flights due to many shortcomings with the instrument landing system and runway lighting system, and the designation was seen as a move to stave off pressure by the government.

Nevertheless, on 3 November 2002, the airport received its first international arrival . Biman flight BG020 from Kuwait via Abu Dhabi landed at 10:05 with 215 passengers en route to Dhaka.<ref>"Biman launches Kuwait-Sylhet flight". Aviatour. The Weekly Holiday. 22 November 2002. Archived from the original on 4 February 2005.</ref> The disembarking passengers on the inaugural flight were greeted by then Finance & Planning Minister, M Saifur Rahman and State Minister for Civil Aviation and Tourism, Mir Mohammad Nasiruddin . For a brief period, Biman also operated a direct service from London but was later re-routed via Dhaka.

Additional expansion of the runway and improvements to the runway lighting and airport facilities were commenced in 2004 to enable wide-bodied aircraft to safely land and takeoff from the airport.<ref name=CPTU731>"Development of Osmani International Airport". Central Procurement Technical Unit. April 2005. Archived from the original on 27 September 2007.</ref><ref name=SouthAsiaLogistics21429>"Upgraded Osmani International Airport opens up for traffic". South Asia Logistics. 13 March 2006. Archived from the original on 28 September 2007.</ref>

The South Asia Transport and Trade Facilitation Conference report of 2006 (by the United States Trade and Development Agency) noted that the development of the airport "up to the standards of [an] international airport" to "encourage private sector participation in air transport" was among projects under consideration by the government.<ref>"2006 South Asia Transport and Trade Facilitation Conference Briefing Book" (PDF). US Trade and Development Agency. 11 October 2005. Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 February 2007.</ref>

Work started in 2006 to upgrade the terminal facilities to enable handling of international flights . The improvements include construction of a new terminal building, two jetways and a taxiway.<ref name=TheDailyStar040513>"Osmani Airport expansion work begins in July". The Daily Star. 13 May 2004.</ref> In May 2007, the foreign affairs adviser, informed journalists that the works were on schedule for completion in June 2007.<ref name=CPTU909>"Construction work of Osmani International Airport contract". Central Procurement Technical Unit. April 2006. Archived from the original on 27 September 2007.</ref> He also confirmed that Biman will be operating Hajj flights directly from the airport during the Hajj season later in 2007.<ref>"Runway expansion at Osmani Airport nearing completion". New Age. United News of Bangladesh (UNB). 12 May 2007. Archived from the original on 15 June 2009. Retrieved 14 May 2007.</ref> However, the runway expansion works had not been completed in June with the foreign affairs adviser indicating in August that "minor dressing work" still remained.<ref><!-- Bot retrieved archive --> "ZIA soon to get upgraded runway". The Bangladesh Monitor. 1 August 2007. Archived from the original on 12 December 2007. Retrieved 3 August 2007. {{cite news}}: Check |archive-url= value (help)</ref> The work was finally finished in December 2008.<ref>"Operation of wide-bodied planes starts in Sylhet today". New Age. 15 December 2008. Archived from the original on 11 July 2010. Retrieved 15 December 2008.</ref>

In 2010, the decision was made to construct a refueling station. Construction work began in January 2012. In January 2014, the Project Director Aminul Haq stated that the project was 70% complete.<ref>"International flights soon from Sylhet Osmani Airport". Dhaka Tribune. 27 January 2014.</ref>

International flights

On 1 April 2015, Flydubai resumed foreign airline service to Sylhet with its flight from Dubai–International. Flydubai's introduction of nonstop flights from Dubai became the first international flights to Sylhet since the airport's "international" designation 18 years prior . The service was operated through a codeshare agreement with Bangladeshi airline Regent Airways. However, because Biman Bangladesh Airlines had refused to provide ground handling services, the route was cancelled the next day.<ref>Nahar Kamrun (4 May 2015). "Confusion crops up over granting of permission". The Financial Express. Dhaka. Retrieved 20 January 2016.</ref><ref>"Foreign carriers yet to start regular direct flights to Sylhet". The Financial Express. Dhaka. 28 May 2015. Retrieved 20 January 2016.</ref> Stranded passengers held a demonstration in response on 6 April 2015.<ref>"Flight Cancellation at Sylhet Airport: Passengers hold demo". New Age. 7 April 2015. Archived from the original on 21 May 2016. Retrieved 20 January 2016.</ref> In November 2016, Flydubai decided to start its flight again from Sylhet to the Middle East. This flight was ended on 7 September 2018<ref>"Flydubai closes Sylhet booking", Routesonnline</ref>

In November 2020, US-Bangla Airlines started operating flight to Muscat, temporarily becoming the first Bangladeshi private airline to operate international flights from Sylhet.<ref name="ZYL-MCT">"US-Bangla Airlines makes maiden flight on Sylhet-Muscat route". The Daily Star. 17 November 2020. Retrieved 9 January 2021.</ref> However, as of 2023, the flight no longer runs, with US-Bangla only running direct flights to Dhaka.<ref>"Domestic Destination: Sylhet". US-Bangla Air. Retrieved 7 August 2023. US-Bangla Airlines operates direct flights to Sylhet from Dhaka, Bangladesh. Flights departing from other cities stop in transit at the [sic] Osmani International Airport.</ref> On 12 November 2020, Biman Bangladesh Airlines started flights from Sylhet to Cox's Bazar, which was a first, a direct flight between two domestic airports without any connecting flight from Dhaka.<ref name="ZYL-CXB">"Biman to launch Sylhet-Cox's Bazar flight from Nov 12". Dhaka Tribune. 10 November 2020. Retrieved 7 January 2021.</ref> Later, in March 2021, Biman started another direct flight between Chittagong and Sylhet, considering the demand of passengers for domestic tourism and commercial purposes.<ref>"Chattogram-Sylhet flight from March 17 for first time". New Age. Retrieved 9 March 2021.</ref>

After completion of runway strengthening works (2021), the long-standing demand for both outbound and inbound direct flights to and from the UK has been fulfilled. As of January 2022, Biman was operating 4 weekly roundtrip Dreamliner flights to London and 2 weekly roundtrip Dreamliner flights to Manchester from Sylhet. These flights all originate and terminate in Dhaka.

On October 24, 2022, Biman started operating a weekly flight from Sylhet non-stop to Jeddah. On November 1, 2022, Biman started operating a weekly flight from Sylhet non-stop to Sharjah. Both these flight originate in Dhaka and follow the same route on the way back the next day. There is also a weekly Biman flight to Dubai from Sylhet.

Expansion and development

In April 2020, a Chinese company, namely Beijing Urban Construction Group (BUCG), was appointed to construct a new terminal building including a cargo building, a modern equipped ATC tower, taxiway, apron and a modern fire station of the airport at a cost of Template:BDTConvert . After completion of the new terminal building, the airport's passenger capacity would be enhanced to 2 million per annum from the current capacity of 600,000 per annum. There will be six boarding bridges and thirty-six check in counters in the new terminal building.<ref>ওসমানী বিমানবন্দর নতুন টার্মিনাল নির্মাণ হবে ২১১৬ কোটি টাকায়. Prothom Alo (in Bengali). 19 April 2020. Retrieved 17 August 2020.</ref><ref>"Deal signed for constructing new terminal building at Sylhet airport". The Financial Express. Retrieved 17 August 2020.</ref> The expansion would be completed by December 2027.

Airlines and destinations

Passenger

<!-- Please use only independent sources, not the airport or airline as they are not independent. -->

Airlines	Destinations	Refs.
Air Astra	Dhaka	<ref>"Air Astra kicks off domestic flights today". The Business Standard. 24 November 2022.</ref> <!-- -->
Biman Bangladesh Airlines	<ref>"Flight Schedule -Biman Bangladesh". www.biman-airlines.com. Retrieved 11 January 2020.</ref> <!-- -->	Novoair
Dhaka	<ref>"NOVOAIR - truly yours".</ref> <!-- -->	US-Bangla Airlines
Dhaka

Cargo

Airlines	Destinations	Refs.
SkyAir	Cox's Bazar, Dhaka	<ref>"Sky Capital Cargo destinations". Skycapitalcargo.com.</ref> <!-- -->

Accidents and incidents

• On 22 December 1997, Biman Bangladesh Airlines flight BG-609 carrying 85 passengers and 4 crew, operated by a Fokker F28-4000, managed to land in a paddy field 5.6 kilometres from the foot of the runway in heavy fog, on final approach from Dhaka. 17 passengers were injured.<ref>"ASN Aircraft accident Fokker F-28 Fellowship 4000 S2-ACJ Sylhet Civil Airport (ZYL)". Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 15 October 2012.</ref>
• On 8 October 2004, Biman Bangladesh Airlines flight BG-601 carrying 79 passengers and 4 crew, operated by a Fokker F28-4000, inbound from Dhaka overran the wet runway and ended up in a ditch. Two passengers were injured.<ref>"ASN Aircraft accident Fokker F-28 Fellowship 4000 S2-ACJ Sylhet Civil Airport (ZYL)". Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 20 August 2019.</ref>
• On 31 July 2025, a boarding bridge tire exploded while it was being changed during routine maintenance, killing one of the attending workers and injuring another.<ref>"Worker killed, another injured as boarding bridge tyre explodes at Sylhet airport". Dhaka Tribune. Retrieved 31 July 2025.</ref>

See also

• List of airports in Bangladesh

External links

• Aviation Safety Network: Sylhet Civil Airport
• Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh: Airports
• Live Flight Status
• Osmani International Airport Sylhet on Yellow Page