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.
Leaders from Eurasia gather for the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit focused on secur...
U.S. forces struck two Iranian rocket launchers on Larak Island on Sunday, with Tehran responding by launching ballistic missiles at two U.S. bases...
Russia views NATO’s growing military activity in the Arctic as a direct threat to its national security, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said....
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi accused U.S. government and Israel-aligned actors of manipulating energy markets to promote the war with Iran.
Iran has reached an understanding with Oman on transit arrangements through the Strait of Hormuz, but the waterway will remain closed until the U.S. fulfils its commitments, a senior Iranian diplomat said on Saturday.
Russian strikes on the Kyiv region overnight killed 37 people, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said. Zelenskyy added that the Ukrainian capital was under "virtually nonstop attack" from drones.
At least 37 people were killed after a Russian drone strike hit an ammunition depot in the Kyiv region, triggering powerful secondary explosions President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Saturday, vowing to punish suspected negligence in the second such incident in two months.
The death toll from last week's catastrophic floods in Nepal and Tibet rose to 750 on Sunday, with 3,044 people still missing, as fresh rainfall pushed up river levels and forced rescuers to move to higher ground.
Russia views NATO’s growing military activity in the Arctic as a direct threat to its national security, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said.
Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune has ordered the introduction of the death penalty for people convicted of deliberately setting forest fires, following wildfires that recently killed 12 people across the country.
Yemeni government-aligned forces said they had intercepted a shipment of drone components allegedly being transported to the Houthi movement, in what officials described as an effort to disrupt supply routes across the Red Sea.
As leaders from across Eurasia gather in Kyrgyzstan for the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit, the meeting is bringing together countries with very different interests, from China and Russia to India, Iran and Azerbaijan.
At least 37 people were killed after a Russian drone strike hit an ammunition depot in the Kyiv region, triggering powerful secondary explosions President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Saturday, vowing to punish suspected negligence in the second such incident in two months.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment