Minister orders shorter baggage wait at Dhaka airport

Civil Aviation and Tourism Minister M Rasheduzzaman Millat today instructed officials at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport (HSIA) to reduce passengers’ waiting time for baggage delivery by ensuring better coordination between aircraft operations and ground-handling services.

During an unannounced visit to the airport, the minister inspected the baggage-handling process of a Biman Bangladesh Airlines flight on the Jeddah-Chattogram-Dhaka route, from the opening of the aircraft’s cargo hold to the safe handover of luggage to passengers.

Tap here to add The Daily Star as a trusted source

The inspection took place after the flight landed at 1:00pm, according to a press release issued by the ministry.

Millat directed officials to ensure proper synchronisation between the opening of passenger gates and cargo holds after an aircraft lands to speed up baggage delivery.

He also instructed ground-handling staff to be present at the airport in a planned manner before flights arrive so that baggage-handling operations can begin without delay.

The minister ordered the installation of live monitoring screens at the airport to provide passengers with real-time updates on the progress of baggage-handling activities and ensure transparency in the process.

During the visit, he also inspected several airport washrooms and instructed officials to maintain cleanliness to improve passenger services.

Biman Bangladesh Airlines Managing Director Kaiser Sohel Ahmed, Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB) Chairman Air Vice Marshal Mostafa Mahmood Siddiqui, and senior officials from Biman and CAAB were present during the inspection.

The ministry said the government has adopted a zero-tolerance policy to prevent passenger harassment at the country’s airports and that ministerial-level monitoring was part of efforts to improve baggage-handling transparency.