Bangladesh PM okays acquisition of two freighters

Biman Bangladesh moves Toronto stopover to Istanbul

Bangladesh's Air Astra outlines fleet growth, cargo plans

Biman Bangladesh to cancel Hajj ACMI plans after outcry

Biman Bangladesh Airlines (BG, Dhaka) will operate this year's Hajj charters using its own aircraft instead of wet-leasing two A330-200s from Lithuania's Heston Airlines (HN, Vilnius) after an outcry over the costs of the deal, The Dhaka Tribune has reported.

The Bangladeshi carrier issued a Request for Proposals for two widebody aircraft earlier in April 2022 as it expects a significant uptake in the number of Hajj pilgrims after two years of COVID-related restrictions. It subsequently selected, on April 30, the Lithuanian ACMI/charter specialist to operate two 266-seat A330s on its behalf. However, the decision sparked protests from the carrier's staff, including some members of management.

Reportedly, the decision to wet-lease the two A330s was initially rejected by the state-owned airline's board but subsequently approved during a session attended by only some of management members. Sources said the airline had enough spare in-house capacity to operate the charters, and even if it had needed to lease in additional capacity, there were better bids than Heston's on the table. According to them,...

Airlines sought to operate Bangladesh-Saudi Umrah flights

With large numbers expected to travel from Bangladesh to Saudi Arabia this year for the upcoming Hajj season, the country’s Ministry of Religious Affairs has urged the Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism to rapidly increase the number of frequencies by luring more airlines to connect the two countries, Bangladeshi media reported.

A letter signed by senior assistant secretary SM Moniruzzaman requested Biman Bangladesh Airlines (BG, Dhaka) and Saudia (SV, Jeddah) be allowed to operate more frequencies on direct routes in order to ensure the smooth carriage of pilgrims during the Hajj this summer as well as during Ramadan in April. After the disruption of the pandemic, significant numbers of Bangladeshis are likely to want to visit Saudi Arabia also at other periods this year to perform Umrah.

In the years before the coronavirus outbreak, Umrah passengers had the opportunity to travel to Saudi Arabia also via other Middle Eastern countries, but given ongoing restrictions in some countries and with only Biman and Saudia currently catering to the pent-up demand, the letter asked for...