Published : 07 Jan 2026, 09:13 PM
Updated : 21 Aug 2026, 02:59 PM
Biman Bangladesh Airlines has announced the launch of direct flights to Pakistan’s Karachi from Jan 29.
In a press statement issued on Wednesday, the national flag carrier said it will initially operate the flight twice a week on the Dhaka–Karachi–Dhaka route.
The flights will depart Dhaka at 8pm every Thursday and Saturday, reaching Karachi at 11pm local time. On the return trip, flights will leave Karachi at 12am local time and arrive in Dhaka at 4:20am.
The press release said, “The launch of this new route is expected to make passenger travel between Bangladesh and Pakistan easier and more convenient. It will also open up new opportunities for business, tourism and family travel.”
Passengers have been advised to contact Biman Bangladesh Airlines’ sales offices, authorised travel agents, the Biman call centre (13636/+88096109-13636), or visit the airline’s website for ticket bookings and further flight-related information.
The move to resume direct flights gained momentum after a “new dimension” opened up in bilateral relations between the two countries after the fall of the Awami League government on Aug 5, 2024.
The aerial distance between Dhaka and Karachi is around 2,370 kilometres. However, in the absence of direct flights, airlines currently have to route passengers to Pakistan via transit points in Middle Eastern countries.
Due to these transit flights, fares that ranged between Tk 50,000 and Tk 55,000 in 2019 have now risen to an average of over Tk 100,000.
At present, several airlines — including Air Arabia, Gulf Air, Flydubai, Emirates, Qatar Airways and Thai Airways — operate transit flights from Bangladesh to Pakistan.
As a result, travelling from Dhaka to Karachi takes around eight to 12 hours on average, including transit time. On some airlines, the journey can take as long as 18 to 22 hours.
Currently, return fares in economy class on this route range between Tk 85,000 and Tk 120,000. Biman has yet to announce the fare for its upcoming direct flights to Karachi.
Meanwhile, Biman announced the suspension of its Dhaka–Sylhet–Manchester flights earlier this week.
It cited “a shortage of aircraft, preparations for the upcoming Hajj operations, long-term aircraft maintenance, and the need to ensure optimal aircraft utilisation and operational efficiency across the network” as reasons for the suspension.
Biman launched flights on the Dhaka–Sylhet–Manchester route in October 2019, and it remained the only airline operating direct flights on this route.
The service became very popular among expatriates. Earlier, in December 2024, Bangladeshi expatriates in the United Kingdom staged protests amid rumours that the route would be closed.
