Thursday, 23 October, 2025
Blame and questions are flying after Saturday’s devastating fire at Shahjalal International Airport, which destroyed nearly $1 billion in imported goods and sent shockwaves through Bangladesh’s export market.
Officials from the Dhaka Customs Agents Association say the blaze started in the courier section of the Cargo Village, where operations continued until 2pm despite the government holiday. “There were workers still on site, including Ansar personnel,” said Vice-President Khairul Alam Bhuiyan Mithu.
The fire has raised urgent questions about who is responsible. Air Vice Marshal Md Mostafa Mahmood Siddiq, chairman of the Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB), stopped short of taking direct blame. He noted that while CAAB owns the building, operations are managed by Biman Bangladesh Airlines, customs authorities, and clearing and forwarding agents.
“Biman handles ground operations, C&F agents manage cargo clearance, and customs are responsible for supervision,” Siddiq said at a media briefing Tuesday. He added that it would be “premature” to assign blame before the investigation concludes.
The airport’s fire unit responded within 30 seconds, using state-of-the-art Rosenbauer Panther vehicles, but piled-up cargo obstructed access to the blaze’s source. “Goods often remain in the warehouse for years,” Siddiq explained, noting that this accumulation hampered firefighting efforts.
The inferno began at 2:15pm, but the Fire Service reportedly received the call at 2:30pm, raising further doubts about response coordination. The fire was finally extinguished 27 hours later, on Sunday afternoon, after a joint operation involving 37 units of Fire Service, police, Ansar, RAB, APBN, Bangladesh Air Force, and Navy.
Workers and airline staff described chaos as flames spread. Some employees were on lunch break, leaving fewer personnel on site, while large quantities of goods outside the warehouse also caught fire. “We were told chemicals and even ammunition were stored there, making evacuation urgent,” said Mithu.
Concerns are also emerging over potential sabotage. Officials are probing whether negligence or deliberate actions contributed to the scale of the disaster. The incident has cast doubt on safety and operational management at the cargo complex.
Despite the destruction, Siddiq insisted that the fire would not affect the airport’s International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) rating. “We have conducted regular fire drills and installed 140 fire extinguishers,” he said, adding that infrastructure was “very strong and sturdy.”
The disaster has left exporters and cargo operators reeling, while public confidence in airport management and safety oversight remains shaken. Questions about responsibility, delays in emergency response, and obstructed access for firefighting units dominate discussions.
As investigations continue, authorities face mounting pressure to clarify accountability and prevent a repeat of one of the worst airport fires in Bangladesh’s history.
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Blame and questions are flying after Saturday’s devastating fire at Shahjalal International Airport, which destroyed nearly $1 billion in imported goods and sent shockwaves through Bangladesh’s export market.
Officials from the Dhaka Customs Agents Association say the blaze started in the courier section of the Cargo Village, where operations continued until 2pm despite the government holiday. “There were workers still on site, including Ansar personnel,” said Vice-President Khairul Alam Bhuiyan Mithu.
The fire has raised urgent questions about who is responsible. Air Vice Marshal Md Mostafa Mahmood Siddiq, chairman of the Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB), stopped short of taking direct blame. He noted that while CAAB owns the building, operations are managed by Biman Bangladesh Airlines, customs authorities, and clearing and forwarding agents.
“Biman handles ground operations, C&F agents manage cargo clearance, and customs are responsible for supervision,” Siddiq said at a media briefing Tuesday. He added that it would be “premature” to assign blame before the investigation concludes.
The airport’s fire unit responded within 30 seconds, using state-of-the-art Rosenbauer Panther vehicles, but piled-up cargo obstructed access to the blaze’s source. “Goods often remain in the warehouse for years,” Siddiq explained, noting that this accumulation hampered firefighting efforts.
The inferno began at 2:15pm, but the Fire Service reportedly received the call at 2:30pm, raising further doubts about response coordination. The fire was finally extinguished 27 hours later, on Sunday afternoon, after a joint operation involving 37 units of Fire Service, police, Ansar, RAB, APBN, Bangladesh Air Force, and Navy.
Workers and airline staff described chaos as flames spread. Some employees were on lunch break, leaving fewer personnel on site, while large quantities of goods outside the warehouse also caught fire. “We were told chemicals and even ammunition were stored there, making evacuation urgent,” said Mithu.
Concerns are also emerging over potential sabotage. Officials are probing whether negligence or deliberate actions contributed to the scale of the disaster. The incident has cast doubt on safety and operational management at the cargo complex.
Despite the destruction, Siddiq insisted that the fire would not affect the airport’s International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) rating. “We have conducted regular fire drills and installed 140 fire extinguishers,” he said, adding that infrastructure was “very strong and sturdy.”
The disaster has left exporters and cargo operators reeling, while public confidence in airport management and safety oversight remains shaken. Questions about responsibility, delays in emergency response, and obstructed access for firefighting units dominate discussions.
As investigations continue, authorities face mounting pressure to clarify accountability and prevent a repeat of one of the worst airport fires in Bangladesh’s history.
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