Direct Flight Between Dhaka, Karachi Resumes After 14 Years

This development comes at a time when friendship between Bangladesh and Pakistan has increased following the ouster of prime minister Sheikh Hasina following mass protests led by students in Bangladesh on August 5, 2024.

Aviation sources said a special ceremony will be held to mark the occasion.

Sources added that the airlines will operate flights between Dhaka and Karachi twice a week and the airlines have been given licenses to test the waters until March 30 before long-term permission is given.

Biman Bangladesh Airlines will operate Dhaka-Karachi route on Thursdays and Saturdays, the airline said in a statement in Dhaka earlier this week.

The flight will leave Dhaka at 20:00 local time and arrive in Karachi at 23:00. The return flight will leave Karachi at 12:00 midnight and arrive in Dhaka at 4:20 am.

Currently, passengers traveling between the two countries are largely dependent on connecting flights through hubs such as Dubai or Doha.

The governments of Pakistan and Bangladesh have been discussing the resumption of direct flights between Dhaka and Karachi since last year in a bid to revive trade and other ties after years of tense relations.

Bangladesh gained independence from Pakistan in 1971.

Plans to restart direct flights between Bangladesh and Pakistan were first announced in August last year during Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Ishaq Dar’s visit to Dhaka.

Dar’s visit to Dhaka was the first such high-level contact between Pakistan and Bangladesh in over a decade.

The relaunch follows official approval from the Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority, which allowed Biman to operate on the route and use designated air corridors in Pakistani airspace, officials said.