[3] Osmani International Airport was built during the British rule of the Indian Subcontinent, partly to check Japanese aggression from Burma [citation needed].

After many years of lobbying by expatriates living in the UK, limited expansion of the airport was carried out to enable medium-sized aircraft, such as the Airbus A310 used by Biman, to operate [citation needed].

[5][6] The South Asia Transport and Trade Facilitation Conference report of 2006 (by the United States Trade and Development Agency) noted that the development of the airport "up to the standards of [an] international airport" to "encourage private sector participation in air transport" were projects that were under consideration by the government.

[7] Work started in 2006 to upgrade the terminal facilities to enable handling of international flights [citation needed].

However, because Biman Bangladesh Airlines had refused to provide ground handling services, the route was cancelled the next day.

[20] Later, in March 2021, Biman started another direct flight between Chittagong and Sylhet, considering the demand of passengers for domestic tourism and commercial purposes.

[21] After completion of runway strengthening works (2021), the long-standing demand for both outbound and inbound direct flights to and from the UK has been fulfilled.

In April 2020, a Chinese company, namely Beijing Urban Construction Group (BUCG), was appointed to construct a new terminal building including a cargo building, a modern equipped ATC tower, taxiway, apron and a modern fire station of the airport at a cost of ৳2116 crore (US$170 million) [citation needed].

[22][23] This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency Media related to Osmani International Airport at Wikimedia Commons