The commencement of direct flights between Dhaka and Male by Bangladeshi private carrier US-Bangla Airlines has strengthened air connectivity between the two countries, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said during her visit to the Maldives Thursday. "Our national carrier Biman Bangladesh Airlines is also going to introduce flights with the Maldives via India's Chennai. We hope there will be more people-to-people contacts and exchange of tourism cooperation due to the flight operation on this route," she added. Read: Biman to introduce flights with Maldives: Hasina To meet the long-standing demand of more than 1 lakh expatriate Bangladeshis in the Maldives, private carrier US-Bangla started operating flights on the Dhaka-Male-Dhaka route, three days a week, on November 19, Md Kamrul Islam, general manager (public relations) of US-Bangla Group, said. Direct flights are expected to play an important role in elevating tourism and trade relations between Bangladesh and the Maldives. The minimum return fare of US-Bangla's Dhaka-Male-Dhaka route has been fixed at Tk45,545.