British Airways resuming flights to Dhaka after 11 years recess

Dhaka: The national flag carrier of the UK British Airways is to resume direct flight operations from London to Dhaka after a suspension of 11 years, the Ministry of Civil Aviation said on November 22.

Mohibul Haque, Senior Secretary of the ministry, said, according to reports, "British Airways once operated its flight to Dhaka. They have again applied for resuming its operation on the London-Dhaka route and we will permit them." flight

The Senior Secretary further mentioned that the Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh would formally submit British Airways' application to them and then they would allow BA to operate their scheduled passenger flights to Dhaka.

After continuing its scheduled passenger flights for over three decades, British Airways suspended the operations to Dhaka from March 29, 2009, as the route was not turning out profitable.

Bangladeshi passengers will be benefited from the resumption of British Airways flights as competition in the market will increase among different airlines including Emirates, Qatar Airways, and Turkish Airlines who operate flights to London via stopovers in their respective countries.

Industry elites said when passengers would be able to reach London directly, they can avoid connecting flights to the Middle East creating business competition among the respective airlines which will benefit Bangladeshi passengers.

Only Biman Bangladesh Airlines, the country's national flag carrier, operates direct flights between Dhaka to London now.

British Airways is the second-largest UK-based carrier, based on fleet size and passengers carried, after EasyJet.

The government believes that the resumption of operations of British Airways will have a positive impact on the country's investment and will eliminate the fears of various countries and organizations regarding the security of the country's main airport in the capital.

Mohibul Haque said British Airways has taken into consideration the country's development in economy and overall sectors as well as an improved security system at the airport while resuming their operation to Dhaka.

In a letter to our civil aviation ministry, BA said that, since 2009, the situation in Bangladesh has changed a lot. Bangladesh is much safer now than ever before; the country's aviation sector has improved greatly, and high economic growth is taking place.

"Our world-renowned services and modern aircraft will give travelers easy access to the United States and Canada, in addition to the United Kingdom and Europe. British Airways will provide high-quality airfreight services to Bangladeshi exporters, especially garment and pharmaceutical exporters," British Airways mentioned in the letter.