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A total of eleven flights, including nine international, were diverted to Shah Amanat International Airport in Chattogram and Sylhet’s Osmani International Airport after a fire broke out at the cargo terminal of Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport on Saturday afternoon.

Md Masudul Hasan Masud, the executive director’s representative at the HSIA, confirmed the suspension of all flight operations in a message issued around 3:30pm, stating, ‘All flight operations at the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport were temporarily suspended since the incident.’

At around 6:00pm, Mohammad Ibrahim Khalil, the public relations officer at Shah Amanat International Airport, confirmed the diversion of eight flights, reported ¶¶Òõ¾«Æ· staff correspondent in Chattogram.

‘A total of eight flights have so far been diverted to Chattogram due to the fire at Dhaka airport,’ he said. He further explained, ‘Four flights, including two domestic flights from Chattogram to Dhaka and two international flights—one operated by US-Bangla Airlines from Bangkok to Dhaka and another by Air Arabia from the Middle East to Dhaka—have landed at Shah Amanat International Airport.’

Khalil added, ‘An additional four international flights, two of US-Bangla Airlines and two of Biman Bangladesh Airlines, are being diverted to Chattogram. In total, eight domestic and international flights have landed here as of now.’

Khalil assured that all operations at Shah Amanat International Airport were running smoothly and stated that the diverted aircraft landed safely without any reports of casualties or disruptions.

Meanwhile, three international flights were diverted to Sylhet’s Osmani International Airport, reported ¶¶Òõ¾«Æ· staff correspondent in Sylhet.

One flight operated by Biman Bangladesh Airlines from Riyadh and two US-Bangla Airlines flights from Singapore and Malaysia were rerouted.

Sylhet airport director Hafiz Ahmed confirmed that no additional flights had been diverted there as of 7:00pm, saying, ‘No more flights have been diverted to Sylhet instead of Dhaka.’

According to the Fire Service and Civil Defence, the fire at the HSIA was reported around 2:30pm.

Talha Bin Zasim, station officer at the Fire Service Media Cell, said that as of 6:00pm, 37 firefighting units were working to bring the blaze under control.