Aviation History
Bangladesh's civil aviation began almost immediately after independence, with Biman Bangladesh Airlines established in January 1972 as the new nation's flag carrier. State-owned for decades and long troubled by overstaffing and financial losses, Biman was converted into a public limited company in 2007 and has since modernized its fleet with Boeing 777s and 787s. Private carriers such as US-Bangla Airlines (2014) and Novoair have since expanded domestic and regional competition.
Established on January 4, 1972, days after Bangladesh's independence, as the country's flag carrier, initially named Air Bangladesh.
Weekly flights to London begin in March 1972, just weeks after Biman's first domestic flight.
Biman breaks even for the first time since its founding.
A Biman Fokker F27 crashes near Dhaka, killing 49 people.
Biman is restructured into a public limited company, beginning reforms including significant workforce reductions.
Biman takes delivery of its first Boeing 777-300ER, marking a major widebody fleet upgrade.
A major private domestic carrier begins operations, later expanding to regional international routes.
Biman receives its first Boeing 787-8, continuing a broader fleet modernization program.
Biman Bangladesh Airlines · US-Bangla Airlines · Novoair
Wikipedia, Biman Bangladesh Airlines corporate history, Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh
Aviation Firsts
Tejgaon Airport — Dhaka (1941): Construction began 1941 (British, WWII, at the Dainodda site); first landing by a Royal Indian Air Force light fighter on the unfinished runway in early 1943. After Partition (1947), became 'the first airport for civil aviation' in East Pakistan — a regional claim, not an explicit national 'Bangladesh's oldest' claim. Now a Bangladesh Air Force base (BAF Base Bashar), also used by the Army and as the National Parade Square; civil traffic moved to the newer Dhaka airport (sources give conflicting years, 1980 or 1981, for the move); CAAB upgraded it to 'domestic airport' status in Oct 2011, though the article says it still lacks the services that status requires; one report says the strip had been unused since 1988. · Wikipedia ↗
No source made an explicit 'Bangladesh's oldest airport' claim; Tejgaon's 'first civil airport' claim is scoped to pre-1971 East Pakistan, and it is effectively defunct for civilian use today. Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport's and Shah Amanat International Airport's (Chittagong) founding dates could not be retrieved this session due to an exhausted search/fetch budget, so an older civil candidate cannot be ruled out. Reported as the best-documented candidate with this gap flagged, not as a confirmed national 'oldest.'
Biman Bangladesh Airlines (1972): Founded 4 January 1972 (infobox, under Presidential Order No. 126, the Bangladesh Biman Ordinance); the article's own history section instead says 'created in February 1972' — a direct inconsistency within the same source. Proposal submitted 31 December 1971 by former employees including ten Boeing 707 commanders and seven former PIA pilots. Commenced domestic operations 4 February 1972 (initially 'Air Bangladesh,' a single DC-3); international ops began 4 March 1972 (chartered 707 to London). Held an internal monopoly on Bangladesh's aviation industry for 24 years, until 1996. Operating today as flag carrier; no older distinct Bangladeshi carrier is plausible given 1971 independence, and none was found. · BG ↗ · Wikipedia ↗
No documented foreign entrant found. Bangladesh is mid-tender, not yet resolved. CAAB, via a Sumitomo-led Japanese consortium, named four foreign candidates for a second ground handler at Dhaka's (Hazrat Shahjalal) Terminal-3: Menzies Aviation (UK), Swissport (Switzerland), Çelebi Aviation (Türkiye), and dnata (UAE) — all still pending CAAB clearance as of the most recent reporting (mid-to-late 2026), none selected or operating. Biman currently holds a ground-handling monopoly at the existing terminals.