Biman flies Sylhet-London direct after nine years

Biman Bangladesh Airlines has resumed direct flights on Sylhet-London route after nine years amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The BG-001 flight with 238 passengers on board took off from Osmani

International Airport for Heathrow International Airport at 11:15am on Sunday.

Biman will operate two flights on the route in October and on every Wednesday from November, the flag carrier’s Sylhet Manager Shahnewaz Mazumder said.

“Work is ongoing to transform the airport into one of the best airports in the world from where flights will be operated to other international routes including the US and Canada,” State Minister for Civil Aviation and Tourism Mahbub Ali said after inaugurating the flight.

He promised to increase facilities and cut plane fares.

Biman had suspended direct flights to London from Sylhet in 2011 due to a lack of adequate modern facilities at the airport.

The flights from Sylhet to London were being operated via Dhaka afterwards.

Biman used to run four flights a week to London and three to Manchester before the coronavirus outbreak began in Bangladesh.

The return flights used to take off again for the two United Kingdom routes after arriving in Dhaka via Sylhet.

Biman suspended its London flights after Jul 16, 2020 amid the pandemic as the number of travellers declined.

The authorities restarted a single flight on the Dhaka-London route a week from Aug 10.

But the flights did not land in Osmani International Airport. Passengers from Sylhet were brought to Dhaka on domestic flights and immigration was done in the capital.