The closed Ishwardi airport has not been opened for 2 months!

Ishwardi representative Dhaka to Ishwardi passenger plane of United Airways Bangladesh Ltd. has been closed for 2 months. The closure has created anger among passengers traveling by air.

জানা গেছে, দীর্ঘদিন বন্ধ থাকার পরে গত বছর ঈশ্বরদী বিমানবন্দরটি চালু হয়। সেই সময়ের বেসামরিক বিমান পর্যটন মন্ত্রী লে. কর্নেল ফারুক খান আনুষ্ঠানিকভাবে ইউনাইটেড ইয়ারওয়েজ বাংলাদেশ লিঃ যাত্রীবাহী বিমানের উদ্ভোধন করেন. When the Ishwardi to Dhaka air traffic started, there was excitement among the people of this area. Local businessmen along with local and foreign officials of Ishwardi EPZ started traveling to Dhaka by air. There is also a shortage of tickets at that time due to the high number of passengers. It used to take a week to get the ticket serial. As a result, thinking about the convenience of passengers, Biman Ishwardi to Dhaka traveled every day at that time. Carrying patients by air saves a lot of time and money. Many people from Pabna-Kushtia and Natore travel to Dhaka by this plane. But 2 months ago the plane stopped suddenly. That has created a lot of anger among air travelers in the region.

When contacted in this regard, Kamrul Islam, officer of United Airways Bangladesh Ltd., blamed the lack of width of Ishwardi airport as the reason for the stoppage of flights and said, "We need a 100-feet wide runway for a 66-foot aircraft, but there is only a 75-feet runway in Ishwardi." He also blamed the passenger crisis as the reason for the flight cancellation.

But many people used to go to Dhaka through this airport every day. Even instant tickets were not available except a week in advance. He said about the runway. This airport used to have two flights in the morning and afternoon during the Pakistan era and one (morning) flight even after the independence of the country. Of course, since there was no Rajshahi airport at that time, passengers from Rajshahi used to travel through Ishwardi. Today, DC-10 of the Bangladesh Air Force was operating on the Iswardi-Dhaka route. Concerned people will think how acceptable is the problem of United Airways flight on the runway of the airport where the aircraft like DC-10 operated.

There are many important institutions in Ishwardi including EPZ, Rooppur Nuclear Project. Because of that, the residents demanded that the Ishwardi airport be opened soon.