Biman set to resumes Narita flight tonight after 17 years

Biman Bangladesh Airlines is set to resume its much waited direct Dhaka-Narita-Dhaka flight tonight aspiring to make the Bangladesh Japan direct air connectivity as a profitable route.

The inaugural flight will take off from Dhaka's Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport at 11.45pm local time and reach Narita International Airport in Japan on September 2 at 9.15 am local time.

State minister for civil aviation and tourism M Mahbub Ali will inaugurate the inaugural flight of the national flag carrier as the chief guest while Japan ambassador to Bangladesh Iwama Kiminori to be present.

Chairman of the board of directors of Biman Bangladesh Airlines Mostofa Kamal Uddin, Principal Secretary of the Prime Minister Office Mohammad Tofazzel Hossain Miah, Civil Aviation and Tourism Secretary Md Mokammel Hossain, and Civil Aviation Authority Chairman Air Vice Marshal M Mafidur Rahman will also join the opening ceremony.

"Dhaka-Narita could be a promising route for Biman Bangladesh Airlines as we are expecting passengers from our neighboring countries travelers apart from the local passengers," Shafiul Azim, Managing Director and CEO of Biman Bangladesh told today.

He said Biman has already offer lucrative packages with more weight on baggage for its Narita route to attract travelers from Nepal and Kolkata.

Besides Bangladesh, there are about 41,000 Indians, and 1.40 lakh Nepalese nationals living in Japan. So, passengers from India and Nepal can fly to and from Japan via Dhaka in only six hours," Biman's chief said.

According to the Ministry of Justice, Japan, till 2022, there were 20,954 Bangladeshis living in Japan. Biman will operate weekly three flights with Dreamliner 787-8 and 787-9 aircrafts.

The flight will depart from Dhaka every Friday, Monday and Wednesday and from Narita every Saturday, Tuesday and Thursday. Currently the national flag carrier is negotiating with Airbus, to purchase 10 brand new planes from the European aircraft manufacturer.

At present, Biman has a total of 21 aircraft in its fleet, of these, four are Boeing 777-300 ER, four are Boeing 787-8, two are Boeing 787-9, six are Boeing 737 and five are Dash 8-400 aircraft.

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