Dhaka: Private carrier US-Bangla Airlines’ maiden flight to Dubai took off today from Dhaka Airport at 6:30 pm.

The flight was officially inaugurated at the International Terminal Building of Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport through a cake cutting ceremony before the flight departure. Chairman of Bangladesh Civil Aviation Authority Air Vice Marshal M Mofidur Rahman attended the ceremony as the Chief Guest.

CAAB members Md Khalid Hossain, Chowdhury M Zia ul Kabir and HSIA Director Group Captain AHM Touhid-ul Ahsan were also present on the occasion, among others while Captain Sikder Mezbahuddin Ahmed, Chief Executive Officer of US-Bangla Airlines presided over the event.

The inaugural flight from Dhaka to Dubai flew with 140 passengers by a 164-seat Boeing 737-800 aircraft.

Initially, seven flights will be operated on the Dhaka-Dubai route. Every Monday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday the flight will start from Dhaka at 06.30pm and will reach Dubai at 10.00pm. The return flight will start for Dhaka from Dubai at 11:30pm on every scheduled day and will reach at 06.00am on next day.

Every Tuesday, the flight will start for Dubai from Dhaka at 05.30pm and will reach there at 09.00pm. The return flight will start for Dhaka from Dubai at 10:30pm on every scheduled day and will reach Dhaka at 05.00am on next day.

Every Wednesday, the flight will start for Dubai from Dhaka at 03.55pm and will reach there at 07.25pm. The return flight will start for Dhaka from Dubai at 08:55pm on every scheduled day and will reach Dhaka at 03.25am on next day.

Every Saturday, the flight will start for Dubai from Dhaka at 05.00pm and will reach there at 08.30pm. The return flight will start for Dhaka from Dubai at 09:55pm on every scheduled day and will reach Dhaka at 04.25am on next day. All mentioned timings are local.

For Economy Class, the minimum one-way fare BDT 54,999 and return fare BDT 73,000 has been fixed in Dhaka-Dubai route. Also the minimum one-way fare AED 1,670 and return fare AED 2,753 has been fixed in Dubai-Dhaka route.

For Business Class, the one-way fare is BDT 79,200 and return fare BDT 153,526 has been fixed in Dhaka-Dubai route. Also one-way fare AED 2,620 and return fare AED 4,453 has been fixed in Dubai-Dhaka route. The fares include all taxes and surcharges.

US-Bangla Airlines has a total of thirteen aircraft in its fleet, including four Boeing 737-800s and six brand new ATR 72-600s. The airline also mentioned they are planning to add four more ATRs soon.

US-Bangla Airlines currently operates flights to Muscat, Doha, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Kolkata, Chennai and Guangzhou. The airline is also planning to start flights to Male and Colombo this year.

Moreover, US-Bangla operates flights to all domestic routes in the country especially from Dhaka to Cox's Bazar, Chattogram, Sylhet, Saidpur, Jashore, Rajshahi and Barishal.

The airline is further aiming to increase the number of destinations it operates to in the Middle East with flights to Abu Dhabi soon.

US-Bangla, CAAB and HSIA officials cutting a ribbon to inaugurate the maiden flight to Dubai from Dhaka on Feb 1 at HSIA