The country's newest private airline “Air Astra” is going to start its commercial operations from November 24 with its maiden flight on Dhaka-Cox's Bazar route. Announcing its formal launching, State Minister for Civil Aviation and Tourism Mahbub Ali on Tuesday hoped that passengers will be benefited through Air Astra’s entry in the aviation sector with a fair competition among the airlines. “Air Astra's journey has enhanced the choice of domestic routes for passengers. I believe domestic airlines will establish positive competition and cooperation, which will be helpful for passengers,” said Mahbub Ali. Read more: Bangladesh, Uzbekistan discuss air connectivity, code-sharing between airlines He hoped that Air Astra would operate their flights by maintaining service quality and safety. The State Minister also launched the official website of Air Astra during the launching ceremony held at the domestic terminal of Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport.

National flag carrier Biman is now a profitable organisation, thanks to the efforts and various initiatives taken by the government, according to State Minister for Civil Aviation and Tourism Md Mahbub Ali. Addressing the 'Dialogue' program of the Bangladesh Secretariat Reporters’ Forum (BSRF), Mahbub Ali also disclosed that Biman remained profitable even during the Covid-19 pandemic, defying the norm for airlines globally. The salaries and allowances of all the Biman staff are paid from its own income, he added. The program was held Tuesday at the Secretariat in Dhaka. Mahbub Ali said Biman had taken out a Tk1,000 crore loan in the form of a government incentive during the pandemic period with soft terms. Within a year of taking the money, Biman repaid the loan with interest from its profits. “The airlines have to pay their employees from their own earnings as all authorities under the Civil Aviation Ministry are commercial and they need to bear their expenses from their own earnings,” he claimed. Read: “Will take action over allegations of corruption, nepotism in recruiting Biman pilots” The government doesn’t allocate a budget for Biman, he added. "Giants of the airline industry across the globe incurred losses during the pandemic. The tourism sector has gone through a massive disaster," the junior minister said. "But we worked relentlessly. We tried to communicate with the foreign embassies, so that Biman could survive operating cargo flights. We continued earning and Biman's accounts stayed in the black during the period." Despite the unstable global market situation and the domestic hike in fuel prices, Biman received a positive response to its newly-introduced Dhaka-Toronto-Dhaka route, and the flights on this route were fully booked, claimed Mahbub. "We want to run Biman in the right way. The flights of Biman are now departing at the right time. Those involved in irregularities would face legal action,” he further added. “We are now working to ensure service of an international standard,” he said. “To ensure it, we asked the authorities concerned to remain alert, so that passengers don't face unnecessary hassles. Also, passengers must not suffer due to extra cautionary measures.” As the prime minister directed to ensure necessary services for the passengers, the state minister and Biman’s managing director are visiting airports regularly to monitor the services, Mahbub added. Read:ACC approves charges against 3 former, 1 current Biman high-ups He is hopeful that the sufferings of the passengers will cease to a large extent once the third terminal at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka starts operating in October 2023. He also mentioned the government’s initiatives to develop the airports and cargo handling across the country. Regarding developments in the tourism sector, Mahbub Ali said the sector had faced huge losses during the pandemic. After lifting the restrictions given for the pandemic, the sector has started seeing profits again. In the first three months following the lifting of restrictions, the sector had already posted profits of around Tk 6 crores. BSRF President Tapan Bishwas presided over the programme while its General Secretary Masudul Hoque moderated.

Flights carrying Bangladeshi pilgrims to Saudi Arabia to perform Hajj will begin on May 31, said the Civil Aviation and Tourism Ministry. This year, the government has fixed Tk 1.40 lakh as plane fare.  Also read: People aged above 65 can’t perform Hajj this year: State Minister Biman will carry 31,000 pilgrims through 75 dedicated flights, said State Minister for Civil Aviation and Tourism Md Mahbub Ali while talking to reporters after attending a meeting on hajj management at the secretariat. This year, a total of 57,856 pilgrims will be able to perform Hajj from Bangladesh.   The government has taken necessary preparations to ensure smooth and safe hajj for the pilgrims, said State Minister for Religious Affairs Md Faridul Haque Khan recently. Earlier, Saudi Arabia raised the number of Hajj pilgrims from inside and outside the kingdom to one million in 2022, authorities announced in a statement on April 9. Hajj is open to those who have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and are under the age of 65, added the statement. Also read: All preparations taken to ensure smooth hajj management: State Minister Pilgrims travelling from abroad will also need to have a negative PCR test taken no more than 72 hours before their departure for Saudi Arabia, the statement added. Last year, 58,745 pilgrims performed Hajj in the world because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Before the pandemic, some 2.5 million people used to travel every year to Saudi Arabia for Hajj.

Biman Bangladesh Airlines has taken all preparations to resume direct flights between Dhaka and New York shortly, said State Minister for Civil Aviation and Tourism Mahbub Ali. “We have come a long way in this regard. Besides, Biman’s flights to Japan's Narita, Sydney, Male and Guangzhou will be launched too,” he said. The state minister said this at an event organized by Biman Bangladesh Airlines and Bangladesh High Commission in Canada on the occasion of experimental launching of Dhaka-Toronto flight at Marriott Hotel in Toronto of Canada on Sunday. Read: Biman hopes to launch regular Dhaka-Toronto commercial flights from June He said Biman Bangladesh will procure state-of-the-art aircraft like other countries. "Operating flights to Canada was our prestige issue," he said. “Many big countries of the world did not get slot to fly to Toronto. It is a matter of pride that we have got it,” he added.

The government has started a process to formulate a master plan, aiming to attract more and more tourists -- both local and foreign ones -- through transforming the country’s tourism sector in a planned way.