Saidpur Airport

Domestic Airport in Bangladesh

Saipur Airport (Bengali: সৈয়দপুর বিমানবন্দর, romanized: Saiẏadapur bimānabandar) (IATA: SPD, ICAO: VGSD) is a domestic airport located in Saidpur Upazila of Nilphamari district in northern Bangladesh.

Saidpur is a city of Nilphamari district in Rangpur division, and Saidpur Airport is one of the northernmost airport in country. It started its journey as a domestic airport in 1979, and now handles roughly 30 flights daily on the Dhaka-Saidpur-Dhaka route.^[2]

The airport is currently undergoing major upgrades and expansion, and is expected to serve international flights between Nepal and Bangladesh, to strengthen trade and tourism between the two countries. After this upgrade, it will make this airport the fifth international airport of Bangladesh.^{[citation needed]}

Airlines and destinations

There are currently 4 airlines operating to Saidpur. The airlines operate regional turbo-prop aircraft, namely the ATR 72 and Bombardier DHC-8-400.

Flights to Nepal

In February 2020, the governments of Bangladesh and Nepal began negotiations to allow Nepal to operate flights directly to Saidpur from Nepal to strengthen the trade between the two countries, and attract tourism.^[9] As of March 2021, direct international flights to either Biratnagar or Bhadrapur Airport in Eastern Nepal from Saidpur have been proposed, pending completion of the currently ongoing upgrade and expansion of Saidpur Airport.^[10]

Upgrade and expansion

In 2018, the Civil Aviation and Tourism Ministry has started the work for expanding Saidpur Airport in Nilphamari to upgrade it to international standards. For the continuation of expansion work, the ministry has acquired 912 acres (369 ha) of land from Saidpur municipality and from Parbatipur upazila of Dinajpur. The current runway will be expanded to 12,000 feet (3,700 m) from 6,000 feet (1,800 m), making it one of the longest runways in the country.^[11][12][13]

Accidents and Incidents

• On 4 September 2015, US-Bangla Airlines Flight BS-151 inbound from Dhaka, operated by a Bombardier DHC-8-400 registration S2-AGU, sustained minor damage to its right hand main landing gear after it went off of the paved surface while making the backtrack to the terminal after landing. There were no injuries reported from the incident, and the aircraft was able to operate the return flight BS-152 safely after being towed to the apron, with an 8-hour delay.^[14] The aircraft was later involved in US-Bangla Airlines Flight 211, which crashed in Kathmandu.
• On 25 October 2017, a Biman Bangladesh Airlines Bombardier DHC-8-400 registration S2-AGR, operating as Flight BG-494 from Saidpur to Dhaka, lost its right main landing gear during the initial take off climb when the wheel separated from the aircraft and fell to the ground below. The flight continued to Dhaka and landed safely after performing a low approach to have the landing gear inspected from the ground.^[15]
• On 17 November 2021, a Novoair ATR 72 registration S2-AHF, operating as Flight VQ-967 from Dhaka to Saidpur, suffered a failed nose landing gear during landing. No injuries were reported.^[16][17]

References

1. "Bangladesh Air Traffic Movement: Passenger: Aerodrome: Saidpur". Retrieved 10 January 2020.
2. Asaduzzaman, E. A. M. (1 January 2023). "Saidpur airport to boost connectivity with Nepal, Bhutan". The Daily Star. Retrieved 1 January 2023.
3. "Fly Saidpur Daily | AIR ASTRA". airastra.com. Retrieved 11 August 2023.
4. "Biman flights on Saidpur-Cox's Bazar route start 7 Oct". The Business Standard. 28 September 2021. Retrieved 29 September 2021.
5. "Flight Schedule -Biman Bangladesh". www.biman-airlines.com. Retrieved 11 January 2020.
6. "NOVOAIR - Domestic Map". NOVOAIR. Retrieved 28 December 2019.
7. "US-Bangla to add more domestic flights on new routes". The Business Standard. 22 September 2021. Retrieved 29 September 2021.
8. সৈয়দপুর, রাজশাহী ও বরিশালে ইউএস বাংলার অতিরিক্ত ফ্লাইট. Prothom Alo (in Bengali). Retrieved 11 December 2019.
9. "Dhaka welcomes Kathmandu's proposal to use Saidpur airport". Dhaka Tribune. 18 February 2020. Retrieved 2 May 2021.
10. "Nepal desires to start 20 minutes flight connecting Biratnagar - Saidpur". Aviation Nepal. 24 March 2021. Retrieved 2 May 2021.
11. Taiyeb Sarkar. "Saidpur Airport to be the fourth international airport in Bangladesh". Dhaka Tribune. Retrieved 4 June 2019.
12. M.R Alam. "চতুর্থ আন্তর্জাতিক বিমানবন্দরের জমি অধিগ্রহণ শুরু". Prothom Alo (in Bengali). Retrieved 4 June 2019.
13. "Go ahead with Saidpur Airport upgradation plan". The Independent. Dhaka. Retrieved 4 June 2019.
14. "Incident: US-Bangla DH8D at Saidpur on Sep 4th 2015, runway excursion after landing". avherald.com. Retrieved 2 May 2021.
15. "Incident: Biman DH8D at Saidpur and Dhaka on Oct 25th 2017, dropped wheel on departure". avherald.com. Retrieved 2 May 2021.
16. "Incident: Novoair AT72 at Saidpur on Nov 17th 2021, nosegear tilted by 90 degrees". avherald.com. Retrieved 6 January 2022.
17. "Novoair plane's tyre bursts while landing at Saidpur airport, flights suspended". The Business Standard. 17 November 2021. Retrieved 6 January 2022.

External links

• Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh: Airports