Biman resumes Manchester flight

National flag carrier Biman Bangladesh yesterday resumed its direct flight to Manchester from Dhaka after a break of seven years.

The brand new Dreamliner 787-9 that Biman added to its fleet in December last year took off with 269 passengers at 12.55pm for the major city in the northwest of England.

In September 2012, Biman suspended its flight to Manchester, a home to around 90,000 Bangladeshi expatriates, due to a lack of aircraft, according to a statement.

It will be the 17th international destination of the state-owned airline with flights on every Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday. 

The government is purchasing brand new aircraft and opening new routes to upgrade standard of Biman, said M Mahbub Ali, state minister for civil aviation. 

He spoke after inaugurating the flight at a ceremony held in the capital’s Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport.

Biman, which has six Dreamliners in its fleet of 18 aircraft, will soon resume its New York route and launch a new flight to Toronto, said M Mohibul Haque, civil aviation and tourism secretary.

Air Marshal (retd) M Enamul Bari, chairman of Biman’s board; Air Vice Marshal M Mofidur Rahman, chairman of Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh, and Mokabbir Hossain, Biman’s managing director and CEO, also spoke.