Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka, Bangladesh
The British Government of India had built military airstrips near Tejgaon during the Second World War for operating warplanes towards the war fields of Kohima and other Burmese war threats. Tejgaon Airport became the first airport to operate civil aviation in the then East Pakistan and it was also a station of the Pakistan Air Force.
Soon after the Second World War broke out, the British authority felt the need of constructing the Royal Indian Air Force (RIAF) stations in Dhaka. The construction of Tejgaon Airport at a place named Dainodda started in 1941; and the building of a landing strip at Kurmitola (Balurghat) started at about the same time. The airstrips at Tejgaon and Kurmitola had military fighter plane landing facilities and the British Air Force used the airstrips for safe up keeping their aircrafts. There was also an American air force detachment here during the war period. The first RIAF light fighter landed on the under construction runway of Tejgaon at the beginning of 1943 and after development of the airport facilities, it became the first civil airport.
In 1948, the government had established Eastern Pakistan Flying Club to train local youths in the field of piloting. In 1956, a branch of the Flying Wing of the Plant Protection Department was established in East Pakistan. Tejgaon Airport became gradually busy with flights of these agencies as well of PIA, which had acquired piston engine aircrafts like Dakotas and Convairs, and super constellations converted turbo propeller type of aircrafts like Viscounts and Fokker.
Later, jet aircrafts like Boeing, Comet and DC 8 were added to the fleet. The airport also served foreign airlines including British Airways and Pan American Airways. PIA started its Boeing jet services in 1960. The Department of Civil Aviation and the Airport Development Agency had to upgrade Tejgaon Airport for accommodating traffic in accordance with the international standards. This airport began to fail to fulfill the requirements of a modern international airport. So the decision was taken to construct a new international airport at Kurmitola, Dhaka and the construction work of new airport began with the technical support of French experts.
After the Independence of Bangladesh the construction work of the airport completed in 1980 and Operational activities were shifted from Tejgaon to Kurmitola. Dhaka international airport was renamed as Zia International Airport in 1983 and in 2010 as Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport.
Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport is situated at Kurmitola, 18 kilometer north of Dhaka zero point, the capital city of Bangladesh. This stamp issued 21st December 1983.
