Domestic flight operation to Barishal resumes tomorrow

Publish: 5:54 PM, July 11, 2020 | Update: 5:54 PM, July 11, 2020

DHAKA, – The government will resume air-connectivity on Dhaka-Barishal-Dhaka route tomorrow as the fifth domestic destination following reopening of air travel to Chattogram, Sylhet, Saidpur and Jashore after the flight suspension due to COVID-19 pandemic.

The Civil Aviation Authority, Bangladesh (CAAB) has taken the decision to resume the flight operation on Barishal route as the district civil surgeon office arranged physicians and health workers at the airport there to monitor the health guidelines regarding hygiene and social distancing.

The country’s two private carrier – US-Bangla Airlines and Novoair – have taken preparation to resume their operation on Dhaka-Barishal-Dhaka route from tomorrow after nearly three and half months of flight suspension on this destination.

Both the airlines have decided to operate one daily flight on the route while Novoair flight will depart at 3:15 pm and US-Bangla airlines flight at 4:15 pm from Dhaka to Barishal every day of the week, airlines officials said.

On June 1, the government first resumed the air connectivity on the three – Chattogram, Sylhet, Saidpur – out of its seven internal destinations from and to the capital after more two months closure amidst COVID-19 pandemic while it reopened flight operation to Jashore on June 11.

The CAAB is yet to give permission to operate domestic flights to rest of two other domestic routes – Cox’s Bazar and Rajshahi – as airports in those destinations were not prepared to follow the CAAB’s prescribed health guideline.

“As long as local health departments fail to assign doctors and health workers at the rest three airports, we will not resume flights there,” CAAB Chairman Air Vice-Marshal Md Mafidur Rahman told BSS earlier.

However, the national flag carrier Biman Bangladesh Airlines kept suspending its flight operation on domestic routes due to lack of passengers after operating only one flight on the first day of flight resumption on June 1.

According to CAAB guideline, airlines are operating flight keeping at least 30 percent seats vacant on each flight to ensure social distancing by keeping at least gap of a seat between two passengers if they are not from the same family.