Bangladesh-India air bubble flights resume

Under a bi-lateral air bubble agreement, air communication between Bangladesh and India has resumed after a seven-month suspension due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Newly-appointed High Commissioner of India to Bangladesh Vikram Kumar Doraiswami inaugurated the flights around 8.30am on Wednesday at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport.

Under the pact, both the countries can operate international flights; however, there will be a few restrictions. As of now, only three Bangladeshi carriers, NovoAir, Biman Bangladeshi Airlines and US-Bangla Airlines are allowed to operate 28 flights per week. On the other hand, five Indian airlines, including IndiGo, Vistara, SpiceJet, Air India and GoAir will be allowed to operate the same no of flights in a week.

The five Indian airlines are expected to operate flights on Dhaka-Delhi, Dhaka-Kolkata, Dhaka-Chennai and Dhaka-Mumbai routes.

Among the three Bangladeshi airlines, Biman will be operating flights on Dhaka-Delhi and Dhaka-Kolkata routes, US-Bangla Airlines operate on Dhaka-Chennai route while NovoAir on Dhaka-Kolkata route. The Indian airlines will operate flights on Dhaka-Delhi, Dhaka-Kolkata, Dhaka-Chennai and Dhaka-Mumbai routes.