Departing from Dhaka Airport [DAC] – Leaving Bangladesh

Departing Bangladesh from Dhaka’s international airport isn’t complicated, but the sheer number of people at the airport and seemingly endless lines make it feel so.  It seems sometimes like they have just thrown a lot of people at the problem, rather than figure out what needs to happen.  The website for the airport suggests that you arrive FOUR hours before your flight departure time, which makes a few alarm bells ring for us, so we looked into it and detailed what it’s like to depart from Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport.  I’ll cover what you need to have in advance, what you should expect, and what you can do to make your departure go more smoothly.  Here’s my guide to departing from Dhaka Airport.

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The key is knowing what to expect before you arrive for your flight out of Bangladesh. In this guide, I’ll walk you through the full departure process at Dhaka Airport, from getting there to navigating the seemingly endless lines to even get into the airport, to boarding your flight, so you can avoid surprises and make things as straightforward as possible.

Preparing to Leave Bangladesh

Depending on where you are flying to from DAC, means that there will be different things that you need to prepare ahead of arriving at the airport.  We’d had a wee bit of a heads-up as to what it would be like departing from a South Asian airport in our recent trip to Pakistan, when we flew out of Karachi (it was a zoo, and a brutal experience in standing in endless lines in hot, humid weather).

We’d even checked in online, but still had to get to the check-in desk to have our visa confirmed and check our bags.  But I digress.  Here’s what you need to do about leaving Bangladesh from Dhaka International Airport

When to Arrive at Dhaka Airport

The airport’s own website (you can see it here), says to arrive FOUR hours before your flight is due to depart.  Our tour company for Bhutan (where we were flying to from Dhaka) said THREE hours.  We got there 2 hours and 40 minutes before. 

I would NOT arrive any later than that.  Truly.  Give yourself at least three hours before your international flight if you’re departing from Dhaka International Airport.

Dhaka Airport is always busy, and the departure process involves multiple stages, including security checks, check-in, immigration, and final screening.  And it’s not obvious what’s happening where.  There are signs, of course, and yes, they’re in English, but seeing them through the sheer volume of people.  Yeah, that.

What Documents Do You Need to Depart from Dhaka International Airport

It’s the same as any other airport, you will of course need your passport, your ticket or booking confirmation, or boarding pass if you have checked in online. 

You’ll also need to show any relevant visa to enter the country that you’re heading to.  We’re flying from here to Paro, Bhutan, and had to show our Bhutanese evisa to check in at the desk.  An electronic copy was fine, sent to us by our tour guide from Bhutan-Acorn.

You need your ticket/booking confirmation/boarding pass and passport to even get into the airport building.  And you’ll need to show your documents several times (don’t worry, I’ll detail where), before you get on the plane.

Departure Taxes at Dhaka International Airport

There are no separate departure taxes to pay at the airport. Any applicable fees are usually included in your airline ticket.

Getting to Dhaka Airport

You will need to allow plenty of time to get to the airport from where you’re staying in Dhaka.  (My guide to where to stay in Dhaka is here)  As the last place we visited in Bangladesh was Sreemangal, and we took a train, A/C, non-A/C bus there in the end to get from tea country to Dhaka, we had decided that we’d stay near the airport for our last night in the country.

Want to stay near the airport?  The closest hotel is the Crowne Plaza.  Seriously close.  Then the next one after that is the Best Western Maple Leaf, and then the one that we chose – The Zabeer Dhaka.  We chose it because the Crowne Plaza was twice the price that we paid for the Zabeer.

Even from the Zabeer, which is a 20-minute walk from the departures area of Dhaka’s airport, we decided to take a ride to the airport.  Hiking 20 minutes in 30 degrees, carrying 15 kilos, before standing in a line for 3 hours, then getting on an international flight, isn’t my idea of fun.

I’ve covered high level details below, but my guide on traveling between Dhaka Airport and the city is here.

Taxi / Ride-Hailing to Dhaka International Airport

Ride-hailing apps like Uber and Pathao are widely used here in Bangladesh and are one of the easiest ways to get to the airport. Pricing is clear, and it removes the need to negotiate.  We ordered an Uber, but 5 minutes later, it hadn’t arrived, so we cancelled it and relied on our hotel security to grab us a car.  It ended up being the same price as the Uber, and it cost us 300 BDT to go from the Zabeer Hotel to International Departures at Dhaka airport.

Private Transfer from your hotel to Dhaka International Airport

All hotels can arrange airport transfers, which can be useful if you’re departing early in the morning or late at night. You’ll likely pay a premium if you arrange it like this, but you can get an idea of what the cost is here.

Taking the Train to Dhaka International Airport

The airport railway station is very close to the airport.  You can easily walk from the train station to the departure terminal in around 10 minutes.

Traffic Considerations

Traffic in Dhaka is predictably busy.  And short journeys can take a long time, so be sure to give yourself extra time, especially during peak hours.

Arriving at Departures at Dhaka International Airport

Once you arrive at the drop-off point outside departures (make sure you’re dropping off at the International Terminal if you’re flying internationally), then head to one of the entrances; there are four, so pick your line.  Once you’ve got inside the terminal building, you can move freely, so it doesn’t matter much which entrance you pick.

Entering the Terminal at Dhaka International Airport

Pick an entrance.  You’ll see the doors, and then follow the lines that will snake around to get to the end of the lines.  If you’re planning on standing in line, then pick one that is NOT in the sun, as it gets brutally hot here.  The lines move slowly because there is a security check (your passport and boarding pass), and then all your bags are scanned.

Skipping the line to enter the terminal at Dhaka International Airport

The lines look endless, but there is a way to avoid them.  There is a very high chance that you’ll be approached by one or more guys wearing white shirts and an official badge on a ribbon around their neck to ask if you want to skip the line.

Sounds dodgy, right?  But they’ll take you to the entrance at the furthest point of the terminal, where all the flight crews enter.  Security will still check your boarding pass/ticket and passport, but you’ll get through, go through the security screening, and miss the entire “line to get into the building”.

If you’re lucky, they’ll stay with you until you’re checked in, have completed the exit Bangladesh form, and are heading through the door to immigration.

The cost?  500 BDT per person.  And it’s worth every taka.  You don’t pay until you’re ready to hand the money over.  We got through the line, checked in, dropped our bags, completed our forms, and walked right up to the immigration door before we paid. 

Is this a tip or a fee? We viewed it as a fee, and thought it would get us just through the door. Our guy actually in fact, organized the immigration form and got us all the way to immigration. There’s more on tipping in Bangladesh here.

Part of me feels we’d still be lined up outside the terminal building now if we’d not done this.

Check-In at Dhaka Airport

There are check-in areas at Dhaka Airport, A through E, for instance.  Your flight will appear on the informational boards with an area.  Once you get to the area, you need to find the counter for your flight as the counter number isn’t displayed on the screen.

Complete the Immigration Form to Exit Bangladesh

You’ll need to complete a paper immigration form to exit Bangladesh.  You’ll find them on the desk at check-in.  There’s a copy of what it looks like below.

Confirm you have no lithium batteries in your hold luggage

You’ll need to sign to confirm you have no lithium batteries or power banks in your hold luggage, and a sticker will be appended to your bags.

Confirmation of a visa for your destination country

If you need a visa for where you’re flying to, then you’ll have to show it at check-in before you can be checked in.  We’re off to Bhutan, and our visa is an evisa, so all we had to do was show the PDF of our Bhutan e-visa.

After you’ve checked in, got your boarding pass, and dropped your bags, just head to immigration.

Immigration at Dhaka Airport

After check-in, you’ll go through immigration.  There are several doors to enter immigration; just use the one closest to where you checked in, unless you’re directed elsewhere. 

There’s a separate line (or two) for Foreign Passports, which makes it a lot quicker. 

You’ll need to hand over your passport, boarding pass, and immigration form that you’ve completed.  You’ll surrender the immigration form at this time and get an exit stamp in your passport.

After Immigration – Inside the Departure Area

Immediately after immigration, unless your flight is boarding imminently, you most likely do NOT want to go to the boarding gate, as there are no facilities down there.

Food & Drink Options after Immigration at Dhaka International Airport

There are snack places, a café/restaurant called Spices, and some spots that sell Bangladeshi sweets and foods.

Duty-Free Shopping after Immigration at Dhaka International Airport

There are a variety of duty-free shops, all looking as though they sell pretty much the same sort of stuff. 

Toilets after Immigration at Dhaka International Airport

There are male and female toilets here.

Seating & Waiting Areas

There are various seating areas, but the best place that we found was (to the right after immigration) an area for Senior Citizens (60+) with comfortable seats and one (out of about 12) working power sockets.  Nigel was the only one out of 6-7 of us in there who met the age criteria.  Mostly, it looked like members of staff eating lunch.

Currency Exchange after Immigration at Dhaka Airport Departures

There are various currency exchanges at Dhaka Airport departures, after immigration.  We didn’t use them, spending the few BDT we had left on Bangladeshi sweets. There’s more on currency and payments in Bangladesh here.

WiFi, Charging & Connectivity after Immigration at Dhaka International Airport

WiFi is available and free to access.  We used the WiFi briefly to check that it worked, and then reverted to our Bangladeshi SIM as it was faster (my guide to the best SIM for Bangladesh is here).

The charging points, the only ones we found working, were in the senior citizens area, and it was a single socket that worked out of 12 we tried.  You might need an adapter – read my guide to plug adapters for Bangladesh here.

The Gate Areas at Dhaka International Airport

You need to go through a further security checkpoint to get to the gate area here; it’s just your passport and boarding pass that they’re looking for, and then you’ll be in a corridor where all the gates lead off from.

As I mentioned above, there are no facilities down here, so once you’ve entered the corridor, you’ll head straight for your gate. 

Security at the Gate at Dhaka International Airport

There’s additional security before you enter the gate.  You need to get your boarding pass checked, and then have your bags pass through the scanner, while you go through the body scanner.  We WERE allowed through with the bottled water that we had.  Which was good, as there’s nowhere to buy water here, and the tap water is?  My guide to tap water in Bangladesh is here.

The seating area at the gates is just that.  A seating area.  There was one bank of power sockets (which worked).

Practical Tips for Departing Dhaka Airport

• Arrive early. 
• Use skip-the-line assistance for 500 BDT if you do not care to stand in a line for a good length of time. 
• Charge your devices in advance.

FAQs about Departing from Dhaka Airport

Got questions about departing from Dhaka?  Here’s what we had questions about and the answers.

Is there WiFi at Dhaka Airport?

Yes, there’s free WiFi at Dhaka Airport, International Departures.

How long before my flight do I need to arrive at Dhaka Airport?

It’s recommended to arrive FOUR hours before your flight for international departures from Dhaka.  We arrived 2 hours and 40 minutes before our flight and used the “skip the line” option.

Can I skip the line when departing from Dhaka Airport?

Yes.  There is a skip-the-line option you can use to get you INSIDE international departures at Dhaka Airport.  It costs 500 BDT (cash, no receipt) per person.

Is there a currency exchange after Immigration at Dhaka International Airport?

Yes, there are several currency exchanges after immigration at the international terminal at Dhaka Airport.

What currency can I use after immigration at Dhaka Airport departures?

You can pay for things in Bangladeshi Taka (BDT) after immigration at Dhaka International Airport departures. If you need more cash, then there are currency exchanges.

Final Words on Leaving from Dhaka Airport

My biggest concern when leaving from an airport where I know there will be lots of lines is just that.  It’s about the lines and how long they will take to clear.  Equally, I have zero desire to stand in a line in the blazing sun for hours on end.  Leave plenty of time, assume you won’t find a working power socket (although we did after trying 11 of them).  You’ll need a bit of patience, but overall, this wasn’t a bad airport experience.

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