DHAKA: US-Bangla Airlines, the largest airline in Bangladesh by fleet size, has launched direct flights from Dhaka to Jeddah amid rising 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 airline's general manager, told Arab News.
“Focusing on the Jeddah route, we have introduced Airbus in our 436-seat fleets. Inshallah, in the coming days we will fly to other destinations in the Kingdom, such as Riyadh and Dammam.”
Flights from Dhaka's Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport to Jeddah are operated every day of the week on an Airbus 330 aircraft.
The airline is taking advantage of the growing market for travel in the Middle East. Flights to Saudi Arabia have been too few to meet the needs of some 3 million Bangladeshi workers in the kingdom.
“There is a huge demand for (flights) from Bangladesh to Saudi Arabia and other countries in the Middle East,” Islam said.
Bangladeshi workers in Saudi Arabia “have long demanded to be allowed to launch flights to the Kingdom, and with this Jeddah flight we also tried to fulfill their demands,” he added.
The plan is also to serve the hundreds of thousands of pilgrims who travel for the annual Hajj and Umrah pilgrimages.
“From the very first flight to Jeddah, we started transporting the Umrah passengers. With the launch of flight operations to Jeddah, we have included a plan to carry our Hajj pilgrims along with Bangladesh's national flag carrier Biman. It will facilitate the journey of our pilgrims to the Holy Land,” Islam said.
Last year, huge demand for air tickets from Bangladesh to the Middle East during the Hajj season resulted in sky-high prices, preventing many would-be pilgrims from embarking on the spiritual journey.
Founded in 2010, US-Bangla Airlines started as a domestic airline and has recently expanded its routes to become international. It currently serves 13 destinations in 10 countries.
With its recent acquisition of new Airbus A330 and Boeing 737 aircraft earlier this year, the airline became the largest airline in Bangladesh by fleet size.
With the additions, the US-Bangla fleet now consists of 24 aircraft, while the national flagship Biman has 21.
