The launch of new direct flights between the northern England city of Manchester and Bangladesh this week has been hailed as a major step towards boosting bilateral relations in the New Year.
Biman Bangladesh Airlines celebrated its inaugural flights from Manchester Airport to Dhaka and Sylhet this week as part of a brand new three-times-a-week long haul service welcomed by more than 70,000 people of Bangladeshi origin living in the north of the UK.
“There is no better way to mark the start of a New Year than with the launch of an exciting new long-haul route from Manchester Airport like this one,” said Andrew Cowan, CEO of Manchester Airport.
“We know there is a significant Bangladeshi community across our catchment area and this Biman Bangladesh service will be hugely popular with friends, family and business contacts travelling in both directions. And we are confident it will also open up a wide range of fresh collaboration opportunities between Greater Manchester and both Dhaka and Sylhet,” he said.
Cowan was part of a high-profile delegation led by Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham to Bangladesh at the end of last year when the new routes were confirmed for a January 2020 launch.
Burnham recalls: “When I visited Bangladesh last year, one of the main missions for our trip was to re-establish a direct air connection between Manchester and Bangladesh.
“It is wonderful to see it actually starting service and we are confident that this link will bring trade, cultural and educational benefits to Greater Manchester and the rest of the country. Just as importantly, it should provide a vital travel route for the friends and families of people of Bangladeshi heritage living in Greater Manchester and further afield.”
The mayor described his first visit to Bangladesh in November 2019 as unforgettable, when he also agreed to set up new partnerships with his counterpart mayors in Sylhet and Dhaka to focus on a wide range of development and trade issues as well as collaboration on tourism, sport and culture.
“I am certain that the growing cooperation between our cities and countries will only increase demand for this direct service. I want to welcome travellers to Greater Manchester and the wider North of England,” he said.
Bangladesh’s national airline will operate the routes from Manchester to Dhaka and Sylhet on Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays, with a flight time of 10 hours. The carrier will utilise two brand-new Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners, with 24 seats in business class and 247 in economy. Economy fares start from around £580 return and business class return fares are available from around £1,500. The service will fly from Manchester to Dhaka via Sylhet and will then return to Manchester from Dhaka directly.
Biman’s Regional Manager, Debabrota Mallick, said: “A direct flight from Manchester to Sylhet, and Manchester to Dhaka has been on our radar for quite some time. As part of our business strategy, our main focus has been to connect Manchester to both these thriving parts of Bangladesh. Not only was this due to high demand from the Bangladeshi community in the North, but we also saw a good opportunity to increase tourism and business potential which has been increasing year-on-year.
“After announcing the resumption of the Manchester flight, we saw the first two weeks of flights being completely sold out. We are very pleased to see such an amazing response, and more Bangladeshi passengers continuing to book through Biman Airlines.”