Overflight, landing charges: 27 carriers leave CAAB chasing Tk 114cr dues

The Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB) is struggling to recover about Tk 114 crore ($9.23 million) in overflight and landing charges from 27 foreign airlines, most of which have ceased operations.

The billing period stretches from December last year to October 1986, with the majority of the dues -- Tk 63.43 crore owed by 18 defunct airlines, according to a CAAB document. 

Besides, three airlines -- India’s SpiceJet and Alliance Air, and Turkmenistan Airlines -- that continue to operate flights regularly owe CAAB a combined Tk 42 crore. Another Tk 7.74 crore remains outstanding from six airlines that either suspended operations or merged with other carriers.

SpiceJet accounts for the largest share of the dues, with Tk 34 crore in unpaid landing and overflight charges accrued between June 2021 and November 2025. 

Of the defunct airlines, Air Deccan owes Tk 14.57 crore in overflight dues from November 2004 to September 2008, while Alitalia Airlines owes Tk 12 crore for the period between October 1986 and January 2009. 

When contacted, Air Commodore Md Noor-e-Alam, CAAB’s member for Air Traffic Management, said an airline is charged between $300 and $450 for each overflight, depending on the plane’s size and weight.

“The fee is a one-time charge for an aircraft’s passage from entry to exit, rather than a per-minute charge,” he said.

An overflight fee or en-route air navigation charge is a toll levied by a country on an airline for flying through its sovereign airspace without landing in or departing from that country. 

An airline is expected to pay the fees within 14 days of CAAB issuing the bill. 

Asked what steps CAAB has taken to recover the dues, Mohammad Nazmul Hoque, a member (finance) of CAAB, said the aviation regulator repeatedly approached the embassies of all countries where the debtor airlines are based, asking them to take measures regarding the outstanding bills.

“We wrote to the embassies of the countries concerned regarding the dues. Most recently, we sent such letters in June.” 

In reply to a query, he said the recovery of dues becomes very difficult if an airline goes bankrupt. 

Nazmul pointed out that in some cases, pursuing legal action may cost more than the amount owed. 

He also said CAAB sometimes takes steps to withhold approval for remittance to debtor airlines if they fail to clear dues.

Citing an example involving Jet Airways, he said CAAB had alerted Bangladesh Bank when it learnt that the airline had pending remittances, leading to the suspension of a fund transfer.

This correspondent sent emails to three debtor airlines -- SpiceJet, Turkmenistan Airlines and Alliance Air -- that are operating flights regularly. 

Only SpiceJet sent a reply. It neither confirmed nor disputed CAAB’s figures.

“Reconciliation and discussions are underway, and such issues have been resolved with CAAB in the past,” said a spokesperson for the airline.

The unpaid dues persist while CAAB is recording higher earnings from aircraft crossing Bangladesh’s airspace.

According to CAAB data, overflight revenue rose to Tk 558.61 crore in January-August this year from Tk 502.32 crore in the same period last year. It was Tk 443.12 crore in January-August 2024.

Overflight movements have also gone up. At least 121,516 flights crossed Bangladesh’s airspace in the first eight months of this year, compared with 116,054 during the same period last year.’

Several CAAB officials said the installation of a new radar in January helped expand the regulator’s capacity to generate revenue. They, however, noted that the rise in earnings should not be attributed directly to the radar. 

HOW OTHER COUNTRIES DEAL WITH ARREAS 

India has brought the collection of overflight charges directly under the Airports Authority of India (AAI), replacing the previous arrangement involving the International Air Transport Association.

Since April 1, 2022, route navigation facility charges for aircraft overflying the Flight Information Regions (FIRs) of Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai have been collected directly by AAI, according to India’s Aeronautical Information Publication.

FIR is a specific block of airspace defined by an aviation authority within which two primary services are provided: Flight Information Service and Alerting Service.

If dues owed by a foreign airline or an operator overflying Indian airspace exceed 75 percent of its bank guarantee, AAI can encash the guarantee and place the operator on a cash-and-carry basis. The policy also provides that the airline’s operations may be stopped, said the Airports Authority of India’s Credit Policy (Traffic).

Another South Asian country, Sri Lanka, requires aircraft overflying the Colombo FIR to pay en-route navigation charges within 30 days of receiving an invoice, according to the country’s En-route Navigation Facility Charges Regulations, 2023.

If an airline fails to pay on time, the unpaid charges could be treated as a debt carrying interest of 2 percent per month. Any outstanding dues from earlier years will also remain payable to the state.

WHAT EXPERTS SAY

Aviation expert ATM Nazrul Islam, a former wing commander, said CAAB could pursue the recovery of unpaid dues through legal action in the country where the debtor airline is based.

“Cases can be filed with courts in that country as there is no separate international financial court for this,” he told this correspondent.

Former CAAB chairman M Mafidur Rahman said arrears piled up largely because Bangladesh has yet to introduce an automated billing and payment system.

“In many countries, the process is automated. There is a gateway, and the money comes in automatically... However, billing here is still done manually.”

He said airlines that operate flights regularly could be compelled to settle dues by imposing restrictions on their operations. CAAB had recovered dues from a number of such carriers in the past but faced difficulties in cases of airlines that operated irregularly or on a non-scheduled basis.

Acknowledging shortcomings in CAAB’s follow-up efforts to recover dues, Mafidur said, “There was a lack of persuasion in some cases. Our people were sometimes less forceful in pursuing these matters. That’s one of the reasons why the dues remain pending.”

He further said CAAB had previously taken initiatives to automate the system but those did not materialise as the government agencies concerned could not reach a consensus on the revenue collection mechanism. 

Mafidur suggested introducing automated billing and payment systems as early as possible, while also engaging counterpart civil aviation authorities and diplomatic channels to collect dues.

NEW RADAR, NEW SCOPE

Noor-e-Alam said a new radar system, which became operational in January, has transformed the tracking system.

With surveillance now extending over a wider area, aircraft movements can be monitored more effectively, reducing the likelihood of unrecorded aircraft movements and missed revenue, he noted.

He further said the integrated radar system linked Dhaka with Chattogram, enhancing communication capability up to about 600 kilometres southwards from the port city.