2nd Green Channel to Be Set Up at HSIA

The government will set up a second green channel at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in the capital with a view to easing the suffering of inbound passengers.

Sources said that the Bangladesh Civil Aviation Authority (CAAB) and the National Revenue Board (NBR) are working together to launch a new green channel at the airport to boost passenger services, reports media.

The green channel, depicted by the green line at the airport customs clearance, is intended for travelers who do not have dutiable goods to be declared, while the red channel is intended for those who have dutiable goods to be declared.

In a recent letter last week the Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism instructed NBR to take immediate action in this regard in coordination with the Civil Aviation Authority.

CAAB and NBR, the two government wings, are working to ensure better services for the inbound air passengers.

“Although the service-providing agencies have improved luggage and immigration services, passengers are not being able to exit through the airport smoothly due to delay in baggage screening,” the letter mentioned.

In view of the fact, the Ministry asked the CAAB and NBR to work on a second green channel at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport. There is an exclusive green channel for arriving passengers at the airport.

In its follow-up, the civil aviation authority told the Ministry that it is ready to open a second green channel at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport and if the NBR were to extend its funding, it will be possible to launch it within a short period of time, according to the letter.

The CAAB official said that the green channel saves time for travelers who do not carry dutiable goods.

If a customs officer has a fair basis to suspect that a passenger is carrying dutiable goods, he or she can question a passenger passing through the green channel, he or she added.

Shahjalal International Airport is the country's largest airport with about 4 million international and 1 million domestic passengers a year.

Inbound passengers especially expatriate Bangladeshi workers complain that they face hassle at the airport. Sometimes, it takes hours to exit from the airport due to slow pace of luggage, baggage, immigration and screening formalities.

Officials said another green channel will facilitate passenger service and ease their sufferings.