Dhaka: Biman Bangladesh Airlines has launched one weekly direct flight on the Sylhet-London route from October 4. The flight will be operated every Wednesday.

Md Mahbub Ali, State Minister for Civil Aviation and Tourism inaugurated the maiden flight from Sylhet Osmani International Airport which departed at 11:15 am carrying 232 passengers.

In his inaugural speech, Md Mahbub Ali, mentioned Biman has added 12 ultramodern aircraft to its fleet including Boeing 787 Dreamliner, 777 and 737. The flag carrier will further add three new Dash-8 Q400 to its fleet soon. They have already bought them from Canada Commercial Corporation, he added.

He further mentioned that recently signed air transport agreement with USA will lead to direct flights on the Dhaka-New York route soon. The move is awaiting FAA's audit of HSIA. It is expected to be conducted online instead of on-the-spot inspection due to the COVID-19 outbreak, the State Minister said.

Among others, Sajjadul Hasan, Chairman, Board of Director, Biman Bangladesh Airlines; Air Vice Marshal M Mafidur Rahman, Chairman, Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh; and Md Mokabbir Hossain, Managing Director, Biman Bangladesh Airlines also spoke on the occasion.