Biman all set to resume more domestic flights

The national flag carrier is scheduled to resume flights on the Sylhet-Cox's Bazar and Jessore-Chittagong routes as two more aircraft of Biman Bangladesh Airlines are going to add to its fleet, considering the growing domestic demand.

State Minister for Civil Aviation Mohammad Mahbub Ali said: “The first plane will be commissioned on February 24, followed by the other on March 4.”

The mentioned two aircraft are among the three, which Biman authorities had planned for the national fleet.

The first of the planes were added on November 24 and started flying passengers on December 27.   

The junior minister was inaugurating the commercial service activities of Biman Bangladesh Airlines Motor transport department in Dhaka on Tuesday.

The brand new Dash 8-400 aircraft were procured on the GTG (Government to Government) basis between the governments of Bangladesh and Canada.

Also Read - Biman to acquire 2 more brand new Dash 8-400 aircraft

Tahera Khondoker, deputy general manager (public relations) of Biman, said: “The airlines decided to resume flight on two inbound routes due to commercial and passenger demand.”  

Currently, Biman is operating 37% flights out of total flights, Biman Managing Director (MD) and CEO Mokabbir Hossain told Dhaka Tribune.

The flight will resume on Sylhet-Cox's Bazar and Jessore-Chittagong from next month, he added.

The Biman chief said that the airlines recovered almost equal to the pre-covid situation, especially in November when passenger traffic was 75% which was similar to the rate of passenger transport in December last year. 

However, the reason for the drop in passenger rate in December was movement restrictions in many places, including local elections, he added.

The Biman chief also said cold weather may further increase the disease spread during the winter season, resulting in a slight decrease in the movement of travelers.