The airlines will operate flights between Dhaka and Karachi twice a week and has been given license until March 30 to test the waters before a long-term permission is given to the airlines, sources said.
A flight from Bangladesh capital Dhaka landed at the Jinnah International Airport in Pakistan’s Karachi on Thursday, restoring non-stop air connectivity between the two countries after 14 years.
According to the Pakistan Airport Authority (PAA), the Biman Bangladesh Airlines flight (BG-341) from Dhaka to Karachi reached on Thursday evening.
“This is the first flight from Dhaka which landed at Jinnah International Airport after 14 years,” it said in a statement.
After landing at Karachi airport, the Biman Airlines flight was welcomed with a traditional water salute.
“A new chapter in Pakistan-Bangladesh friendship — air connectivity restored after 14 years, marked by a high-level reception ceremony at Karachi Airport,” the PAA added.
The development comes amid growing bonhomie between Bangladesh and Pakistan after prime minister Sheikh Hasina was ousted following massive student-led protests in Bangladesh on August 5, 2024.
The airlines will operate flights between Dhaka and Karachi twice a week and has been given license until March 30 to test the waters before a long-term permission is given to the airlines, sources said.
The airline, in a statement in Dhaka earlier this week, said, the Biman Bangladesh Airlines will operate on the Dhaka-Karachi route on Thursdays and Saturdays.
The flight will depart Dhaka at 8:00 pm local time and arrive in Karachi at 11:00 pm. The return flight will depart Karachi at 12:00 midnight and arrive in Dhaka at 4:20 am.
Pakistan and Bangladesh governments have been discussing the resumption of direct flights between Dhaka and Karachi since last year in a bid to boost trade and other ties after years of strained relations.
Bangladesh gained independence from Pakistan in 1971.
Plans to restart direct flights between Bangladesh and Pakistan were first announced in August last year during the visit of Pakistani Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar to Dhaka.
Dar’s visit to Dhaka was the first such high-level engagement between Pakistan and Bangladesh in over a decade.
The re-launch follows formal approval from the Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority, which has cleared Biman to operate on the route and to use designated air corridors within Pakistani airspace, the officials said.
