Bangladesh and Pakistan on Thursday (29 January) resumed direct flight services after 14 years, marking a milestone in the revival of relations between the two Muslim-majority nations.
According to Pakistan’s Airports Authority, the inaugural flight from Dhaka landed at Karachi Airport at around 23:00 local time, receiving a traditional water salute. Passengers and crew were formally welcomed by airport officials.
“A new chapter in Pakistan–Bangladesh friendship! Air connectivity has been restored after 14 years, with a high-level reception ceremony at Karachi Airport,” the authority said in a statement.
The first flight, BG-341, operated by Biman Bangladesh Airlines, departed Dhaka at 20:00 local time under the winter schedule. Non-stop services on the Dhaka–Karachi–Dhaka route are scheduled to operate every Thursday and Saturday.
Sheikh Bashir Uddin, adviser at the Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism, addressed the reopening ceremony, which was attended by Pakistan’s High Commissioner to Bangladesh, Imran Haider, and Air Vice Marshal Md. Mostafa Mahmud Siddiq, chairman of the Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh.
Direct flights between the two countries were suspended in 2012 by the Sheikh Hasina administration on security grounds. The August 2024 uprising in Bangladesh, which ousted Hasina, has facilitated a thaw in bilateral relations.
Following high-level discussions and visits by Pakistani officials, including Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar in August 2025, the resumption of flights was finalised. Dar’s visit was the first high-profile Pakistani trip to Bangladesh in 13 years.
In recent months, Bangladesh lifted visa requirements for Pakistani officials for the first time since 1971, and Pakistan pledged 500 scholarships for Bangladeshi students over the next five years, alongside training programmes for 100 civil servants.
Flight operations
The 1,471-mile route between Dhaka and Karachi will be served by a 162-seat Boeing 737, with an approximate flight time of three hours. Previously, passengers had to transit via Middle Eastern hubs, resulting in longer travel times and higher costs.
Bosra Islam, General Manager of Biman Bangladesh Airlines’ public relations department, said all tickets for the inaugural flight were sold, with more than 80% of seats for the second flight already booked.
The airline expressed hope that restored air connectivity will enhance communication, trade, business, and tourism between the two nations.
U.S. special envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff have held talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv on Sunday on efforts to en...
Iran has warned it will retaliate against any future U.S. attacks, saying American energy interests and infrastructure across the Gulf could become...
Baku Climate Action Week (BCAW) 2026 has begun in Azerbaijan’s capital, bringing together government representatives, business leaders, inves...
An eruption of Indonesia’s Mount Anak Krakatau has disrupted air travel, school activities and fishing operations, with hundreds of passengers stranded at Jakarta’s main airport on Sunday.
At least five people were killed and five others injured when an Amazon Prime Air cargo plane overran a runway and crashed while landing at Miami International Airport on Sunday, 6 September, local officials said.
Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said on Sunday that the United States must recognise that the “rules of the game” in its war against Iran had changed “before it is too late”, a day after Washington struck several Iranian tankers in the Gulf.
Two Greek military pilots were killed on Saturday when an F-4 Phantom fighter jet crashed during an air show at Tanagra air base, north of Athens, officials said.
U.S. special envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff have held talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv on Sunday on efforts to end Russia’s war in Ukraine.
U.S. special envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff have held talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv on Sunday on efforts to end Russia’s war in Ukraine.
A battle over the future of the European Union’s diplomatic service is deepening divisions over who controls the bloc’s foreign policy, as EU foreign affairs chief Kaja Kallas pushes back against plans to overhaul her service.
The Strait of Hormuz is moving into a more complicated stage of the U.S.-Iran war. Tehran says it will establish a new restricted maritime zone around the waterway, while Iran and Oman are preparing to formalise a separate shipping route intended to restore at least part of commercial traffic.
The European Union is preparing to boost investment in Greenland, as Brussels moves to deepen political and economic ties with the Arctic territory amid growing strategic competition involving the U.S., Russia and China.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has said a newly commissioned destroyer will become part of the country's nuclear response system, capable of delivering what he described as “annihilating retaliatory strikes”.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment