DHAKA: US-Bangla Airlines, Bangladesh's largest airline by fleet size, has launched direct flights from Dhaka to Jeddah amid growing demand for travel to Saudi Arabia.
The inaugural flight was launched by Civil Aviation and Tourism Minister Faruk Khan on Thursday evening.
“We launched the Dhaka-Jeddah flight as part of our long-term expansion plan,” Kamrul Islam, the carrier's managing director, told Arab News.
“Focusing on the Jeddah route, we introduced Airbus to our fleets with a capacity of 436 seats. Inshallah, in the coming days we will operate flights to other destinations in the Kingdom such as Riyadh and Dammam.”
Flights from Dhaka Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport to Jeddah are operated every weekday with an Airbus 330 aircraft.
The airline is taking advantage of the growing market for Middle Eastern travel. Flights to Saudi Arabia were too few to meet the needs of about 3 million Bangladeshi workers in the Kingdom.
“There is a huge demand for (flights) from Bangladesh to Saudi Arabia and other Middle Eastern countries,” Islam said.
Bangladeshi workers in Saudi Arabia “have been demanding for a long time to launch flights to the Kingdom and with this flight to Jeddah, we have tried to fulfill their demands as well,” he added.
The plan is also to serve hundreds of thousands of pilgrims traveling for the annual Hajj and Umrah pilgrimages.
“From the first flight to Jeddah, we started carrying Umrah passengers. With the launch of flight operations to Jeddah, we have included a plan to transport our Hajj pilgrims together with the national flag carrier of Bangladesh, Biman. It will ease the journey of our pilgrims to the holy land,” Islam said.
Last year, a huge demand for air tickets from Bangladesh to the Middle East during the Hajj season saw prices skyrocket, preventing many would-be pilgrims from embarking on the spiritual journey.
Established in 2010, US-Bangla Airlines started as a domestic carrier and has lately expanded its routes to reach international. It currently serves 13 destinations in 10 countries.
With the latest acquisition of new Airbus A330 and Boeing 737 aircraft earlier this year, the carrier has become Bangladesh's largest airline by fleet size.
With the additions, the US-Bangla fleet now consists of 24 aircraft, while national carrier Biman has 21.
