BAF Base Bashar বিএএফ ঘাঁটি বাশার
IATA: none ICAO: VGTJ
Summary
Airport type	Military
Owner	Bangladesh Air Force
Operator	Bangladesh Air Force
Serves	Dhaka
Location	Tejgaon, Dhaka, Bangladesh
Elevation AMSL	24 ft / 7 m
Coordinates	23°46′43″N 090°22′57″E / 23.77861°N 90.38250°E / 23.77861; 90.38250
Map
Tejgaon Location of airport in Bangladesh
Runways
Direction Length Surface ft m 17/35 9,315 2,839 Asphalt

Transport in Dhaka
Streets
Indira Road Nawabpur Road New Elephant road Panthapath Bangabandhu Avenue B. K. Dash Road Bijoy Sarani Kazi Nazrul Islam Avenue Bailey Road Pragati Sarani Madani Avenue Sat Masjid Road Sonargaon Janapath Hrishikesh Das Road Artist Quamrul Hassan Road
Roads
Dhaka Elevated Expressway Dhaka–Ashulia Elevated Expressway Dhaka Bypass Expressway Dhaka–Narayanganj old road Narayanganj–Demra road Purbachal Expressway Airport Road Mirpur Road Hatirjheel–Demra Expressway
Bridges
Kuril Flyover Moghbazar-Mouchak Flyover Mayor Mohammed Hanif Flyover Hatirjheel Mohakhali Flyover
Rail transport
Narayanganj–Bahadurabad Ghat line Dhaka–Jessore line Narayanganj–Laksam chord line Dhaka–Chittagong high-speed railway Narayanganj Commuter Turag Commuter Drutajan Express Banalata Express Barendra Express Mitali Express Maitree Express Suborno Express Sonar Bangla Express
Mass transit
Dhaka Metro Rail Stations Line 1 Line 2 Line 4 Line 5 (Line 5N Line 5S) Line 6 Dhaka Circular Railway Dhaka Subway Dhaka BRT
Structures
Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport Tejgaon Airport Port of Dhaka Kamalapur Multimodal Transport Hub Mohakhali Inter District Bus Terminal Kamalapur railway station Gandaria railway station Dhaka Cantonment railway station Dhaka Airport railway station Tejgaon railway station Banani railway station Shyampur Baraitala railway station
Others
Dhaka Transport Coordination Authority Dhaka Mass Transit Company Limited Rapid Pass MRT Pass
Transport Bangladesh

Tejgaon Airport, officially BAF Base Bashar, is a Bangladesh Air Force military base in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Bangladesh Army also uses this military base. It served as the country's sole international airport prior to the construction of Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport.^[1]

The British had built military airstrips at Tejgaon, Dhaka during the Second World War for operating warplanes for the Battle of Kohima and other Burmese war threats. The construction of Tejgaon Airport at Dainodda started in 1941; and the building of a landing strip at Kurmitola (Balurghat) started at about the same time. The airstrips at Tejgaon and Kurmitola had military fighter plane landing facilities and the British Royal Air Force used the airstrips for maintenance and storage of their aircraft. There was also a United States Air Force detachment during the war. The first RIAF light fighter landed on the under‑construction runway of Tejgaon at the beginning of 1943.

After the Partition of British India in 1947, Tejgaon Airport became the first airport to operate civil aviation in the then-East Pakistan and it was also a station of the Pakistan Air Force. A number of other British-built military airstrips in Bangladeshi territory were also converted into civil airports – some during the East Pakistan period and some after independence. A few others were converted to STOL (Short Take-off and Landing) ports some years ago. And some still lie abandoned. The airstrips not yet converted to any civil airport of any kind are at Feni, Rajendrapur, Pahar Kanchanpur, Chakaria and Rasulpur. On 1 March 1954, the No. 14 Squadron PAF was assigned to PAF Station Dacca and was the only Pakistani squadron in East Pakistan during the Indo-Pakistani war of 1971.^[2]

Following the transfer of civilian flights to the newly built Shahjalal International Airport in 1981, Tejgaon was taken under the control of the Bangladesh Air Force's Base Bashar.

In mid-2011, the Bangladesh Air Force raised objections to a proposed 19-metre high metro rail along Bijoy Sarani, arguing that the metro rail would hinder military air operations from the Tejgaon airstrip, it made a plea that the airfield be kept functional. The BAF also recommended an alternative route along Khamarbari-Farmgate which would affect the Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban complex. The prime minister opted for the realignment of the route along the parliament complex in line with the BAF suggestion, a move which drew huge flak from different technical experts. The experts, among whom are architects, planners and civic activists, termed the BAF stance unfounded on many occasions and strongly argued that the metro rail would not affect the present operations of the airfield. The airstrip hasn't been used since 1988 and it is seriously affecting Dhaka city's development.^[3]

Between 16 and 17 October 2011, the CAAB quietly upgraded it from a short take-off and landing (STOL) port to a domestic airport. This increased the importance of the airport. The CAAB had declared this on their website, however, its website details on navigational aides, air traffic service and aeronautical communications for air operations in Bangladesh territory didn't mention Tejgaon airfield as an airport. A domestic airport requires all the technical features and passenger services as an international airport as per rules of the International Civil Aviation Organisation but the Tejgaon Airport does not have the services required for a STOL port.^[4]

• 2 December 1970: a Canadair CL-44J freighter operated by Cargolux, aircraft registration TF-LLG, crashed into farmhouses on approach to Tejgaon Airport. All four crew members and three people on the ground were killed. Investigators concluded that the gust lock system engaged and locked the controls in flight due to a hydraulic fault.^[7]

• List of airports in Bangladesh

Civil Aviation Authority, Bangladesh <http://www.caab.gov.bd/secfiles/earlyhis.html>  This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency