Bangladesh

Dhaka airport passengers get bags in 15-20 minutes, aviation minister says

M Rashiduzzaman Millat inspected the baggage belts at Hazrat Shahjalal and said travellers were satisfied, while Riyadh flights remain suspended.

ScrollBeat DeskPublished: 20 Oct 2026, 13:20

Terminal 2 at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka, pictured in November 2024. File photo. Tarunsamanta / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 4.0

Passengers at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport told Civil Aviation and Tourism Minister M Rashiduzzaman Millat that they received their luggage within 15 to 20 minutes, the minister said after inspecting the baggage belts on Monday evening.

Millat spoke to travellers waiting at the belts and said they were satisfied with the service but wanted the standard maintained, according to a ministry press release. He said the government was giving priority to passenger service and to reducing inconvenience at the airport.

The airport has introduced live baggage monitoring in recent weeks. The Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh installed 32 CCTV cameras and 18 large screens across eight conveyor belt areas, allowing arriving passengers to follow their luggage from the aircraft through sorting to the reclaim belt. Footage is shown on 65-inch monitors in the collection areas.

The minister said the decision to introduce the system was taken about two months ago and was now being implemented. "The installation of new monitors will help passengers receive their baggage more quickly. It will also improve baggage management," he said, according to BSS. The authority says the system is meant to improve security, transparency and accountability.

Millat also said an agreement with Japan on operating the airport's Third Terminal would be signed in the first week of November, with a Japanese consortium set to take on operation and maintenance. On the suspended Dhaka-Riyadh route, he said flights would resume once Saudi authorities gave permission and that passengers were being given as much help as possible, including alternatives through other Saudi airports.

Newly appointed Civil Aviation and Tourism Secretary Dr Nurunnahar Chowdhury and senior ministry and CAAB officials accompanied the minister.

Sources & further reading

Spotted an error? Read our corrections policy

Keep reading

NEXT STORY Business

Bangladesh could lose Tk 1,700 crore a year under GCC trade deal, study finds

A Bangladesh Trade and Tariff Commission study says removing import duties under a proposed free trade agreement with the Gulf bloc would cost revenue, and recommends keeping a 5 per cent duty on sensitive goods.

ScrollBeat Desk20 Oct 2026, 14:01Open this article

Cargo and container handling at Chittagong Port, pictured in April 2015. File photo. Motiur Rahman Oni / Wikimedia Commons

Bangladesh could lose up to Tk 1,700 crore a year in government revenue if it removes import duties under a proposed free trade agreement with the Gulf Cooperation Council, according to a study by the Bangladesh Trade and Tariff Commission.

The study recommends keeping a 5 per cent duty on goods from sensitive industries and on products that generate substantial revenue, and cutting tariffs in stages so that domestic industries have time to adjust. The findings were reviewed at a validation workshop chaired by the commerce secretary earlier this month.

Bangladesh imported goods worth $5.64 billion from the six-member bloc in the 2024-25 fiscal year and exported goods worth $689.26 million, leaving a large trade gap. Petroleum products account for most of the imports. The commission estimates that imports from the GCC could rise by about $206.88 million under the proposed arrangement.

The GCC comprises Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman and Bahrain. Its average most-favoured-nation tariff on imports is 5.03 per cent, including 6.62 per cent for agricultural products and 4.8 per cent for non-agricultural goods. The bloc imported about $13.54 billion of ready-made garments in 2024, but Bangladesh holds only a small share of that market, according to the Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association.

Officials see room to expand exports of halal food, leather goods, home textiles, ceramics, medicines, agricultural products and light engineering goods. A senior official of the commerce ministry's FTA wing said gradual tariff cuts would help manage the revenue impact rather than removing duties at once.

The Economic Relations Division told the meeting that the GCC matters for energy security and strategic ties, and suggested that Bangladesh consider a broader Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement or an Economic Partnership Agreement. Bangladesh has already signed a memorandum of understanding with the GCC covering five sectors, but a commerce ministry representative said the country's preparedness should be assessed before it pursues a full agreement.

The proposal is expected to be submitted to the prime minister for approval. If approved, Bangladesh will formally approach the GCC through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Several ministries, including industries, agriculture, fisheries, expatriates' welfare and shipping, will also have to submit short- and long-term assessments of the deal's effects.

NEXT STORY World

Australian MP Helen Haines loses leg in alleged deliberate attack

The independent member for Indi is in a critical condition in Melbourne after being struck outside her Wangaratta office. A 43-year-old man was arrested at the scene.

ScrollBeat Desk20 Oct 2026, 13:59Open this article

Helen Haines, independent MP for Indi, photographed in June 2022. File photo. Alison Newman / Wikimedia Commons

Helen Haines, the independent federal MP for Indi, has lost one leg and remains in a critical condition after a car struck her outside her electorate office in Wangaratta, in rural Victoria, on Monday afternoon. Surgeons were working to save her other leg.

The 65-year-old was retrieving items from the boot of her car shortly after 3.30pm local time when a Toyota LandCruiser hit her, according to accounts of the police investigation cited by Australian media. She was flown to the Alfred hospital in Melbourne and underwent emergency surgery overnight.

Victoria Police arrested a 43-year-old man, Brendan Nugent of Tarrawingee, at the scene. A bystander intervened to restrain him, reports said. Witnesses cited by local media said the driver made a U-turn before the collision and then reversed into Haines a second time. Police have not established a motive.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the evidence pointed to a deliberate act. "It's clear that there was a deliberate act here. This wasn't an accident," he told ABC News. He said the investigation was being led by Victoria Police with the Australian Federal Police, ASIO and the Joint Counter Terrorism Task Force.

Police are considering charges including causing harm to a Commonwealth public official, an offence that carries a maximum prison sentence of 10 years. Authorities have described the incident as isolated and said no related threats were known.

Nugent's father, Rod Nugent, and Rod's partner, Christine Cunningham, said in a statement that Haines had been their friend for more than 20 years. "What happened to her yesterday is devastating and unfathomable," they said, adding that the family would help police with their inquiries.

Haines, a former nurse, midwife and academic, entered parliament in 2019 and held Indi at the 2022 and 2025 elections. She has campaigned for government accountability and anti-corruption measures.

Albanese urged Australians to lower the temperature of political debate. "We all have a responsibility to turn the temperature down," he said. The Australian Federal Police recorded 51 reports of alleged criminal offences involving threats against parliamentarians and candidates during the last election campaign, according to its annual report.