The government has formed a strong monitoring team with a view to improving safety and security at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka, said a top official of the civil aviation and tourism ministry.

The monitoring team will provide guidance on what further improvements can be done such that everything runs smoothly and the EU lifts its ban on direct cargo flights from Dhaka.

The team, which was formed last week, will be headed by Mizanur Rahman, an additional secretary of the civil aviation and tourism ministry, said Ziaul Haque, another additional secretary of the same ministry.

Primarily, it will look to find the loopholes in ground handling and suggest fixes, Haque told The Daily Star by phone. The team will comprise one representative from the Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh, one representative from Customs, representatives from armed police battalion and Biman Bangladesh Airlines and a magistrate, Haque said.

“We want improvement as our overseas trade is largely dependent on the smooth operation of this airport,” said Siddiqur Rahman, president of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association.

The garment makers, who have been hit the hardest by the ban on direct cargo flights to the EU and the UK, have been frantically urging the government over the last few years to address the serious shortcomings of the country's premier airport.

It takes as long as two weeks to release the samples or documents from the airport, which is ultimately eating into the local manufacturers' competitiveness, said Rahman.

Bangladeshi exporters send 1,000 tonnes of cargo by air in a day. Of the total quantity, garment items account for 700 tonnes, according to exporters.