Biman Bangladesh Airlines
Hasina arrives in Washington
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina arrived in Washington, D.C. on Saturday.
A VVIP flight of Biman Bangladesh Airlines, carrying the Prime Minister, landed at Dulles International Airport at 10:03am (local time), said PM’s press secretary Ihsanul Karim.
Bangladesh Ambassador to the USA M Shahidul Islam received her at the airport.
Read: PM joins opening session of 76th UNGA general debate
Earlier, Bangladesh’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York Rabab Fatima saw her off at the airport in New York at 9:15 am (local time).
The Prime Minister will stay in Washington till September 30.
Read: PM arrives in New York to attend UNGA
Hasina is scheduled to leave Washington for Dhaka on September 30 and return home on October 1, after a short stopover in Finland.
Biman to restart Delhi, Kolkata flights within air bubble Sep 5
Biman Bangladesh Airlines will resume Bangladesh-India air bubble flights on the Dhaka-Kolkata-Dhaka route from September 5 and the Dhaka-Delhi-Dhaka route three days later.
The flights will restart within the air bubble agreed between the two countries before the resumption of scheduled international passenger flights.
The national flag carrier will operate flights on the Dhaka-Kolkata-Dhaka route two days per week (Tuesday and Thursday) and two days per week (Sunday and Wednesday) on the Dhaka-Delhi-Dhaka route, according to Tahera Khondoker, deputy general manager (public relations), of Biman.
On September 2, the Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB) accepted the Indian civil aviation ministry's proposal to resume Bangladesh-India air bubble flights on September 4.
Read: US-Bangla to resume flights on Dhaka-Chennai route from Sunday
Biman Pilot Nowshad: A hero in his death
Biman Bangladesh Airlines pilot Captain Nowshad Ataul Qayum, who was hailed for landing his plane safely in Nagpur after he suffered a heart attack in midair, died at a hospital in India on Monday.
The 44-year-old pilot fell sick in mid-air on August 27 and since then he had been undergoing treatment at a hospital in Nagpur, the western state of Maharashtra, where he breathed his last in the morning.
Biman’s flight BG022 with 124 passengers made an emergency landing in the Indian city of Nagpur on the day after Captain Nowshad fell sick, while piloting the plane from Muscat to Dhaka.
The pilot was later admitted to a local hospital.
READ: Pilot suffers heart attack; Biman flight makes emergency landing in India
State Minister for Civil Aviation and Tourism Mohammad Mahbub Ali and Secretary to the Ministry Mohammad Mokammel Hossain expressed deep shock at the premature demise of the pilot, said Tanvir Ahmed, public relation officers of Civil Aviation and Tourism Ministry.
READ: Emergency landing of Biman flight: Passengers safely back in Dhaka
In a message, the junior minister said, “Captain Nowshad was a skilled pilot and he gave utmost importance to the safety of passengers and their lives while performing his duty. Biman has lost a skilled pilot like him at his death.”
Biman to resume flights to Delhi and Kolkata from Aug 22
Biman Bangladesh Airlines has announced a new schedule to operate flights from Dhaka to India from August 22 (Sunday).
Flights will operate on the Dhaka-Delhi route two days a week - Sundays and Wednesdays.
On Dhaka-Kolkata route it will fly three days a week - Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays, said a media release on Wednesday.
The state-of-the-art Dash 8-400 aircraft manufactured by Canada's De Haviland will be used on the Dhaka to Delhi and Kolkata routes.
READ: Biman temporarily closes online ticketing
These new aircraft have HEPA filter technology that will make the indoor air bacteria, viruses and other germs free in just four minutes.
Passengers must undergo RT/PCR (Covid test) within 72 hours of boarding the flight and must follow hygiene rules, the release said.
READ: Two Biman chartered flights take off with stuck students, expat workers
Tickets for these routes can be collected through any of Biman's sales offices, Biman Call Center - 01990 996 996 and authorized travel agencies.
Biman temporarily closes online ticketing
Online ticketing services of Biman Bangladesh Airlines will temporarily remain closed as the service provider failed to operate properly, a media release said Wednesday.
The domestic service provider failed to operate the ticketing services properly due to which the authorities decided to close online ticketing, said a release from Biman.
Read: Biman to start Syedpur-Cox's Bazar flight
In 2019, Biman Bangladesh Airlines, hired an organization to sell tickets online on a temporary basis under a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to encourage domestic service providers. But the organization failed again and again, at various stages, in the full implementation of the expected activities of the airline. It provided services in an unethical manner and tried to create confusion among the passengers.
Biman is going to ensure the provision of advanced online services through a world recognized service provider soon, the release also said.
Read: Biman to operate domestic flights from July 15 to July 22
However, the ongoing process of purchasing, changing and refunding tickets for all routes of Biman through all domestic and foreign sales offices of Biman, authorized travel agencies and Biman call centers would continue.
In addition, the sales centre of Biman's head office in Balaka would remain open 24 hours a day from Thursday to provide services to the passengers.
Two Biman chartered flights take off with stuck students, expat workers
Two chartered flights of national flag carrier Biman Bangladesh Airlines took off Monday for Hong Kong and Amman, Jordan carrying stuck students and expat workers.
Bimans flight BG-078 took off from Shahjalal International Airport at 2:15 pm for Hong Kong with students who got stuck due to Covid-19 pandemic, said Biman in a press release.
Also read: Biman to start Syedpur-Cox's Bazar flight
The flight reached the Hong Kong international Airport around 7:45 pm and will return with stranded Bangladeshi passengers according to the approval of both the country’s authorities.
Meanwhile, another flight of Biman BG-5011 took off around 2:37 pm from the airport with stuck expat workers headed for Jordan’s capital city Amman, said the release.
According to the release it landed around 6:27 pm in Amman.
Also read: Biman to run special flights to 5 countries from Apr 17
Biman has been operating emergency flight services for carrying vaccines, safety materials at reasonable price for the country and stranded Bangladeshi citizens due to Covid-19 pandemic.
Biman to operate domestic flights from July 15 to July 22
National flag carrier Biman Bangladesh Airlines will operate flights in all internal routes from July 15 to 22.
The national airlines service announced the decision through a media release Tuesday, followed by the cabinet division’s notification on lifting lockdown restrictions from July 14 midnight to the morning of July 23.
During the period, Biman’s three flights to Chattogram and Syedpur, two each to Cox’s Bazar, Jashore, Sylhet and one each to Rajshahi and Barishal will fly from Dhaka.
Also read: Bangladesh eases lockdown restrictions ahead of Eid
The passengers can buy tickets for the flights from any travel agency approved by Biman sales office or Biman’s website, mobile apps making payments through bkash, Rocket, Vissa, Mastercard or AMEX card.
However, strict restrictions will resume from July 23 and will continue until Aug. 5, as per the order.
Earlier on Monday, it was reported that Bangladesh Railway is going to restore its passenger train services for eight days from July 15-22 across the country, keeping 50% of the seats empty apparently to facilitate the movement of people during the upcoming Eid-ul-Azha.
Also read: Stringent lockdown: Biman's domestic flights suspended till July 7
Public transport services and business institutions will also be allowed to function.
Eid-ul-Azha will be celebrated on July 21 amid the Delta variant of Covid-19 wreaking havoc across the country, shattering records every day.
A record rise in the number of Covid cases and fatalities in recent days prompted the government to enforce a nationwide stringent lockdown suspending all outdoor activities unless there's an emergency.
Stringent lockdown: Biman's domestic flights suspended till July 7
Biman Bangladesh Airlines has suspended all domestic flights for seven days, from July 1 to 7, as the country enters "strict lockdown" early Thursday to tackle the rising tide of Covid-19 cases and fatalities.
However, the national flag carrier will operate a limited number of flights – from Dhaka to Chattogram, Sylhet and Cox's Bazar – for providing transit to international passengers.
Also read: Govt outlines restriction rules ahead of ‘tough’ lockdown
Passengers of the suspended flights can travel later with the same tickets, subject to vacancies, without paying extra charges, Biman Deputy General Manager (Public Relations) Tahera Khondoker said Wednesday.
Bangladesh's Covid-19 situation is getting from bad to worse. It reported a record-high number of daily Covid-19 infections after confirming its first cases on March 8 last year in the past 24 hours till Wednesday morning.
Also read: Violation of lockdown rules to invite legal action, warns DMP
The country, battling to get a second coronavirus wave under control, also reported more than 100 deaths for a fourth straight day.
The new 8,822 cases have pushed the country's caseload to 9,13,258, and 115 fatalities brought its toll to 14,503.
Biman to resume flights to Saudi Arabia from May 29
National flag carrier Biman Bangladesh Airlines will resume flight operations to Saudi Arabia from May 29.
Biman decided to resume the service upon the assurance of hotel quarantine facilities in Saudi hotels, said Biman Deputy General Manager (Public Relations) Tahera Khandaker.
Passengers have been requested to contact the nearest Biman sales counter to book hotels and quarantine packages and tickets.
On May 20, Biman announced the suspension of flights to Saudi Arabia for five days until May 24.
The flights were suspended after Saudi authorities imposed new conditions on international travellers against the backdrop of Covid-19 including mandatory hotel quarantine.
Biman to run special flights to 5 countries from Apr 17
The government has decided to operate special flights of national flag-carrier Biman to five countries, including four in the Middle East with high concentration of Bangladeshi expat workers from April 17.
As disclosed by Tahera Khandaker, deputy general manager (public relations) of Biman on Thursday, these special flights can be availed to fly to three cities in Saudi Arabia (Riyadh, Dammam and Jeddah), two of the United Arab Emirates (Dubai and Abu Dhabi), Oman's Muscat, and Qatar's Doha in the ME, as well as the city-state Singapore.
"The passengers who have made reservations for scheduled flights, set to operate after 6am Saturday, are requested to be at the airport with Covid-19 negative certificates six hours before the departure time," she said.
Also read: Bangladesh to operate special flights to carry overseas workers
The government suspended the operation of all domestic and international passenger flights to restrict the spread of Covid-19 in the country for the duration of the 'all-out lockdown' that came into effect on April 14.
However, the special flight services will allow overseas workers currently stuck in Bangladesh for whatever reason to return to their places of work amid the suspension of regular flights.
"Special flights will be arranged for the overseas workers who have got stuck in the country following the government's strict lockdown. Bangladeshis who work in Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Oman, Qatar and Singapore can leave the country under the special arrangements," Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment Minister Imran Ahmad told UNB on Wednesday.
Also read: CAAB to suspend international flights from Apr 14
"The five countries are still open for Bangladesh as there is no problem in those countries," he said.
The minister also said, "The recruiting agencies concerned are responsible for bringing the overseas workers with Covid-19 negative certificates to the airport and they'll have to follow health guidelines as well."
Answering a query about how many workers have got stuck, the minister said: "It's difficult to say about the exact number but it might be 25000-30,000 as the recruiting agencies claim."
Read Over 200 protest flight cancellation at Dhaka airport