Home ›› 22 May 2023 ›› Back
Biman Bangladesh Airlines, commonly known as Biman, will operate direct flights to Japan’s Narita International Airport (NRT) from this year.
Biman is planning to operate three flights on the Dhaka-Tokyo route per week from September 1, Biman’s Managing Director and CEO Shafiul Azim said at a press meet on Sunday at Biman office.
He said the decisions were made during a meeting held with a Japanese delegation last week.
Asked whether this route will be profitable, he said that depends on a few factors. “This is not only a financial matter but also about international relations. Our connection with Japan is very important.
“There are around 1 lakh 40 thousand Nepalis in Japan who often travel. We are expecting many passengers from Kolkata, Narita, Delhi too. We are working on making it profitable by coordinating between the airlines.
The Biman officials said that the airline is looking into whether there is any way to operate their flights from Narita to Sydney. “Our connectivity is not just North-South or East-West; we want to make connectivity 360 degrees.”
The managing director said the airline brought back 544 Bangladeshi expatriates stuck in Sudan to the country via Saudi Arabia.
Meanwhile, according to a contract with the Mongolian Airlines, three pilots have completed one month of training and also paid their fee on time.
Besides, a code share agreement will be signed with Gulf Air in the second week of June which will let Biman expand its network in Europe.
However, Shafiul also said the national flag carrier is facing a pilot shortage. Meanwhile, refusing allegations that Biman is charging extra for Hajj flights, he said, “The air fare from Guwahati in India is $250 more than ours. We work in our own way. Our Hajj flights arrived nicely with Hajis. Biman is doing its best to reach everyone.”
