Shah Amanat International Airport (CGP) — Airport Guide 2026

🏢 Terminal Layout & History

Shah Amanat is a single building, around 220,000 square feet, split into International and Domestic sections under one roof. Each side has one boarding bridge. Sources that describe “two terminals” are referring to the same structure’s two halves — there is no separate international terminal building. On the ground you arrive at one structure and walk to the relevant section.

The international hall is the larger of the two, because the international traffic is heavier — almost all of it Gulf-bound labour migration rather than tourism. The domestic section is the busier one by flight frequency: US-Bangla Airlines runs around 57 departures a week, with Biman Bangladesh, NovoAir, and Air Astra covering the Dhaka and Cox’s Bazar shuttles.

The airport sits on the Patenga side of the Karnaphuli estuary, close to the coast and the port. The city’s commercial core — GEC Circle, Agrabad — is about 20 km north by road. That sounds like a short drive; in Chattogram traffic, budget 45 to 90 minutes, not 30.

The field was built in 1940 and carried the name MA Hannan International Airport before being renamed Shah Amanat International Airport on 2 April 2005, after an 18th-century Sufi saint whose shrine in the city draws pilgrims. The runway, designated 05/23, is 2,940 m by 45 m — adequate for narrow-body international jets and an occasional wide-body, but this is not a hub runway.

Late 2023 brought one meaningful infrastructure change: the Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Tunnel under the Karnaphuli opened on 28 October 2023. It runs 9.39 km in total, with 3.32 km under the river, linking the port side of the city to Anwara on the south bank. The tunnel does not connect to the airport directly, but it has reshaped traffic flow on the south side — the airport side — of the city.

One naming note: the city is officially Chattogram (spelling adopted in 2018), but you will see Chittagong everywhere — on signs, airline systems, and in conversation. Same place. Booking systems still use CGP.

🛂 Border & Visa

Visa on arrival

Bangladesh issues a visa on arrival at three airports: Dhaka, Sylhet, and Shah Amanat. The fee is US$51, cash only — US dollars, euros, and pounds sterling are accepted at the counter; taka is not. Carry hard currency in your pocket before you land. The visa is single-entry, valid for 30 days from arrival, and extendable once for a further 30 days through the Department of Immigration and Passports.

Citizens of the US, Canada, the UK, EU countries, Australia, New Zealand, and most of East and Southeast Asia and the Gulf are generally eligible. Indian passport holders are excluded — they must hold a visa before arrival, full stop.

E-visa

The e-visa is the lower-friction option. You apply online before travel, upload your documents, and arrive with approval already confirmed — which removes both the discretion-at-the-desk gamble and the cash-scramble at a tired counter after a Gulf red-eye. For a routine single visit the on-arrival route works fine; for anything near a sensitive period, multi-entry, or simply less stress, apply in advance. Either way, your passport needs at least six months’ validity and a blank page.

The arrival process at CGP is functional but slow at peak: disembark, walk to immigration, join the visa-on-arrival queue if needed (separate from the regular lanes), pay in cash, clear immigration, collect bags. If you land alongside a Gulf flight full of returning workers — which you probably will — the hall is small and the queue builds fast.

Currency

The Bangladeshi taka (BDT, ৳) was trading at roughly ৳123 to the dollar and ৳143 to the euro as of May 2026. Confirm the live rate before travel; the taka has been on a managed slide and the central bank rate and the street rate diverge.

Notes run ৳2, ৳5, ৳10, ৳20, ৳50, ৳100, ৳200, ৳500, and ৳1,000. The ৳500 and ৳1,000 notes cover hotels and intercity transport. The ৳10, ৳20, and ৳50 notes are what you need for CNG drivers, tea stalls, and tips — and they are perpetually in short supply, so break large notes whenever a shop will let you.

Airport exchange counters are fine for your first ৳5,000–10,000 to get into the city. Licensed money changers in Agrabad or the commercial districts give better rates for anything larger.

ATMs at the airport and across the city dispense taka, but withdrawal caps are low — often ৳10,000–20,000 per transaction — and foreign-card acceptance is inconsistent. Bring more cash than you expect to need and do not count on tapping a card outside upmarket hotels.

Fees and departure tax

There is no cash departure tax to pay at the airport. Bangladesh’s embarkation tax is collected inside the ticket price; you will not be stopped at a counter for it on the way out.

Health

No vaccination is required to enter Bangladesh unless you are arriving from a yellow-fever-endemic country, which makes proof of yellow-fever vaccination mandatory. Typhoid and hepatitis A are the standard pre-travel jabs. Dengue is present and seasonal, worst roughly June to October (in and after the monsoon). Bangladesh recorded an active measles outbreak in 2026, with thousands of confirmed cases nationally by May — check that your MMR is current before travel.

Do not drink the tap water. See Practical Notes.

🚆 Getting Into the City

There is no metro or rail link to the airport. Chattogram has no urban rail. Everything runs by road, and the road is the bottleneck. All vehicle types sit in the same traffic; what varies is price and comfort.

The 45–90 minute range is honest: the Port Connecting Road and the airport approach both clog at rush hour, and morning international departures are when traffic is worst. Build in the upper figure.

🛋️ Lounges

Lounge access at CGP splits cleanly between domestic and international, and the distinction matters.

Bank-card lounges serve Bangladeshi premium cardholders rather than international networks. The EBL (Eastern Bank) Skylounge has operated here since 2017, roughly 07:00–22:00, and MTB (Mutual Trust Bank) runs an Air Lounge. Unless your card happens to qualify, these are not relevant to a foreign visitor.

What’s absent: there is no international flagship lounge here. No Emirates, Qatar, or Turkish lounge — because none of those carriers fly to CGP. The international departure hall is basic: limited seating, a duty-free counter, and airside food that is functional rather than good. If you have a long wait before a Gulf flight, eat before security.

🍽️ Food Before You Fly

Chattogram is a serious eating city, and the airport does not represent it.

The regional centrepiece is Mezban — a communal beef feast that originated here, where rich, fiery beef curry is served with white rice at gatherings. Kala bhuna (slow-cooked dark-fried beef) and mezbani gosht are the dishes to look for. The coastal position also produces fish and prawn dishes the rest of Bangladesh doesn’t do as well. None of this is available airside.

For take-home goods, Chattogram’s sweet shops sell mishti (Bengali milk-based sweets) at a fraction of airport snack prices. A box from a city shop is the take-home worth carrying; the airport sells nothing comparable. Coffee culture here is thin and expensive. Tea — strong, milky, sweet, sometimes with condensed milk — is the drink, and the local cha is worth ordering everywhere you can.

Duty-free at CGP is small and aimed at returning labour migrants: perfume, cigarettes, basic spirits, confectionery. Bangladesh’s domestic alcohol availability is restricted, so the airside spirits counter is one of the few legal purchase points, but the range is limited and the value is not good. Regional take-home goods are better and cheaper in the city.

💡 Attractions & Day-Trips

Cox’s Bazar — not a layover trip

Cox’s Bazar is the longest natural sand beach in the world — an unbroken strip running roughly 120 km — and it sits about 160 km south of Chattogram. As of 2024 there is a direct rail connection: the Cox’s Bazar Express (departing Chattogram around 04:20, arriving ~07:20) and the Parjatak Express (departing ~11:40, arriving ~14:40) cover the run in roughly three hours. Fares as of 2026: approximately ৳200 for a basic Shovan seat, ৳240–264 for a Shovan Chair, ৳501 for air-conditioned Snigdha class, ৳602 for an AC seat (verify against the current Bangladesh Railway schedule before travel). Buses — Marsha, Desh Travels, Saudia, and others — take 4–5 hours.

Patenga Beach — the reachable option

Patenga sits at the mouth of the Karnaphuli river, close to the airport on the same southern side of the city — 20–30 minutes by road from CGP in light traffic. It is a city beach: busy, not for swimming (industrial estuary, strong currents, murky water — locals do not enter the water here), and not a beach holiday destination. It works for a sunset walk if you have a few hours before an evening flight. Treat it as a place to stretch your legs.

Chattogram city — half-day options

The Shah Amanat shrine the airport is named for, the old commercial district around Sadarghat, and the WWII Commonwealth War Cemetery — well-kept, quiet, around 700 graves — are all within the city and reachable on a half-day. The cemetery is worth an hour if you have one.

Foy’s Lake

A man-made lake built in 1924 by the Assam Bengal Railway Company (originally Pahartali Lake, renamed for the British engineer who oversaw the construction), now wrapped in the Foy’s Lake Concord amusement complex across roughly 320 acres. It is 8–15 km from the city centre, 20–30 minutes in light traffic, and is the standard local family outing: boat rides, a small theme park, walking trails. A half-day at most. Worth a free afternoon; not worth a special trip.

Sitakunda — Chandranath Hill and the ship-breaking yards

About 35 km north of the city, the Chandranath temple sits atop a 350-metre hill near Sitakunda Bazar — a Hindu Shakti Peeth and one of the older pilgrimage sites in the region, reached by a steep climb of a couple of hours up and back. The same stretch of coast is the Chattogram ship-breaking belt, roughly 20 km northwest of the city centre, where a large share of the world’s end-of-life ships are beached and dismantled by hand. The yards are not a casual tourist site: access is restricted, photography is sensitive, and a visit requires a local operator’s arrangement. It is context for what Chattogram actually is, not a sightseeing stop.

Chittagong Hill Tracts — read this before planning

🔧 Practical Notes

SIM and connectivity

Operator kiosks in the arrivals hall sell SIMs. Grameenphone has the widest coverage; Robi is a solid alternative; Banglalink is the third option. SIM registration requires your passport (photo page plus visa; a passport-sized photo may be requested) — bring both. Tourist data bundles cost roughly ৳150–900 (approximately £1–6) for 5–45 GB over 7–30 days. Buy from an official operator kiosk or store so registration is done properly. A pre-bought eSIM is the friction-free alternative if your phone supports it.

Airport Wi-Fi exists but is slow and patchy. A local SIM is far more reliable for anything time-sensitive.

Safety

The US Level 3 (Reconsider Travel) and UK Level 2 (Increased Caution) advisories as of 2026 are driven by the risk of political unrest — Bangladesh went through a major political upheaval in mid-2024, the situation has settled since, but protests still flare with little warning. Chattogram is generally calmer than Dhaka. Petty crime is common near hotels and commercial districts. Avoid demonstrations and large gatherings; they are the main source of trouble for visitors.

The most reliable scam you will encounter is the transport overcharge — the opening fare quote to an obvious newcomer is several times the local rate, and the fix is always to agree the price before getting in or use a ride-hailing app. A second one: drivers who claim your booked hotel is closed and offer to take you somewhere else that pays them commission. Ignore it.

Tipping

Not strongly expected but appreciated. Restaurants may add a service charge; if not, rounding up or 5–10% is generous. Hotel porters and helpful drivers: a ৳50–100 note. Keep small taka notes for this — another reason to break large denominations whenever you can.

Water

Do not drink the tap water. Bottled water (sealed — check the seal) costs around ৳20 a bottle in the city and is available everywhere. Use bottled or boiled water for brushing teeth as well. Be cautious with ice and salads at cheaper restaurants. The local beef dishes are safest eaten hot and fresh from a busy kitchen.

❓ Frequently Asked Questions

📊 At a glance — CGP 2026