Saipur Airport is a domestic airport located in Saidpur, Rangpur Division, Bangladesh. The airport is operated by the Civil Aviation Authority, Bangladesh. Biman Bangladesh Airlines, Novoair, Air Astra & US-Bangla Airlines operate the flights to Dhaka, Chittagong & Cox’s Bazar. Saidpur is a city of Nilphamari district in Rangpur division, and Saidpur Airport is one of the northernmost airport in country. It started its journey as a domestic airport in 1979, and now handles roughly 30 flights daily on the Dhaka-Saidpur-Dhaka route. The airport is currently undergoing major upgrades and expansion, and is expected to serve international flights between Nepal and Bangladesh, to strengthen trade and tourism between the two countries. After this upgrade, it will make this airport the fifth international airport of Bangladesh.

Airlines and destinations

There are currently 4 airlines operating to Saidpur. The airlines operate regional turbo-prop aircraft, namely the ATR 72 and Bombardier DHC-8-400.

Flights to Nepal

In February 2020, the governments of Bangladesh and Nepal began negotiations to allow Nepal to operate flights directly to Saidpur from Nepal to strengthen the trade between the two countries, and attract tourism. As of March 2021, direct international flights to either Biratnagar or Bhadrapur Airport in Eastern Nepal from Saidpur have been proposed, pending completion of the currently ongoing upgrade and expansion of Saidpur Airport.

Upgrade and expansion

In 2018, the Civil Aviation and Tourism Ministry has started the work for expanding Saidpur Airport in Nilphamari to upgrade it to international standards. For the continuation of expansion work, the ministry has acquired 912 acre of land from Saidpur municipality and from Parbatipur upazila of Dinajpur. The current runway will be expanded to 12000 ft from 6000 ft, making it one of the longest runways in the country.

Accidents and Incidents