Biman Bangladesh resorts to charters as demand plunges

Biman Bangladesh Airlines (BG, Dhaka) has begun offering charter flights to six domestic destinations as it seeks a way to earn revenue amid a major drop in passenger traffic that has caused the cancellation of some of its scheduled flights. On June 5, Biman Bangladesh announced that it was offering charter flights to six domestic destinations, with 35 seats available aboard its Dash 8-400s. Flights are available between Dhaka and Cox’s Bazar, Chittagong, Saidpur, Jessore, Rajshahi, Barisal, and Sylhet with prices ranging from BDT3,000 taka (USD35) to BDT5,000 (USD59). The state-owned airline previously said it was resuming limited scheduled domestic operations from June 1 with a Dash 8-400 between Dhaka, Chittagong, Sylhet, and Saidpur. However, only two flights were operated during the first ten days of June due to “non-availability of passengers,” Tahera Khandaker, deputy general manager of public relations at Biman Bangladesh, told The Daily Star, with all other flights cancelled. The carrier had planned to operate 12 flights per day. Biman Bangladesh was mostly grounded for two months due to the coronavirus pandemic, with several repatriation flights taking place. The Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB) banned almost all international flights from March 21.