The national flag carrier Biman Bangladesh Airlines is likely to operate three weekly commercial flights to Toronto from June. However, a special test flight is all set to fly to Toronto from Dhaka with 25 officials on March 26.
State Minister for Civil Aviation and Tourism Md Mahbub Ali said this while speaking at a press briefing at Pan Pacific Sonargaon Hotel in the capital on Thursday. Canadian High Commissioner to Bangladesh Dr Lily Nichols was also present at the press conference.
He said, “Marking the 50th anniversary of bilateral relations between Dhaka and Canada, and the birth centenary of Bangabandhu Sheikh Majibur Rahman and as per directives of our Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, we will conduct the test flight on March 26.”
“It is a great honor to launch a flight to a country like Canada. Besides, this flight was a long cherished demand of our expatriates. I hope this flight will deepen the friendship between the two countries,” he added.
When asked why it will take long time to operate commercial flights, the state minister replied, "As per our continuous effort after announcing the test flight, Canadian Civil Aviation informed us it will take 12 weeks to make available automatic boarding systems for Biman. Hence, it will take a few months more to inaugurate the commercial flights."
According to Biman, based on market data and research, it is introducing direct commercial flights without any interval.
In this regard the state minister said, “If we were not planning to operate direct flights we would not be able to get permission from Canada to operate flights there. The Canadian Authority has said it will delay to give the approval if we do not have a direct operation plan.”
Canadian High Commissioner to Bangladesh Dr Lily Nichols said, “This flight connecting Dhaka and Canada is a historic flight. Canada is one of the first countries to recognize Bangladesh after independence. I hope the launch of this flight will further strengthen the friendship between the two countries.”
A total of 220 passengers will be on board the test flight. Biman will operate state-of-the-art Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner. The number of seats in this aircraft is 298.
The fare on the Dhaka-Toronto route (one way) is Tk 75,830. Passengers must have the Coronavirus negative certificate within a maximum of 72 hours before departure.
