Govt set to replace 42-year-old civil aviation rules

The government is set to overhaul Bangladesh’s civil aviation rules for the first time in more than 40 years.

The Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism has circulated a draft of the Civil Aviation Rules, 2026, for stakeholder feedback to that end.

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The draft, prepared under the Civil Aviation Act, 2017, will replace the Civil Aviation Rules of 1984 once approved.

It introduces provisions for the commercial and general use of drones in Bangladeshi airspace, and bars Bangladesh-registered aircraft from international air navigation without a valid noise certificate. It also requires airlines to develop an International Aviation Carbon Emission Reduction Plan.

Besides, the draft proposes developing an International Aviation Carbon Emission Reduction Plan.

Among other changes, it proposes granting the Civil Aviation Authority new powers to implement measures for protecting sensitive information technology systems and communication networks from unlawful interference.

A senior official at the civil aviation ministry, speaking on condition of anonymity, said they would wait for comments for 21 days. Later, the rules will be finalised based on feedback and suggestions from stakeholders.

The official said the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) will conduct an audit in October, and the ministry wants to issue the rules before that. “We want to finalise the rules in two months.”

However, industry insiders say a number of provisions in the draft rules are inconsistent with the Icao guidelines.

“There are discrepancies between the draft rules and Icao guidelines,’ said Imran Asif, chief executive officer of private airline Air Astra.

“We are going to see several billion dollars in investment in domestic aviation over the next two years for the purchase of new aircraft. At this stage, we cannot afford any rules that are contradictory to Icao standards,” he added.