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.
Civil Aviation and Tourism Minister Farooq Khan inaugurated the flight on Thursday evening.
“We launched the Dhaka-Jeddah flight as part of our long-term expansion plan,” the carrier's general manager Kamrul Islam told Arab News.
“Focusing on the Jeddah route, we have introduced a 436-seat capacity Airbus in our fleet. Insha'Allah, in the coming days, we will operate flights to other destinations in the kingdom such as Riyadh and Dammam.
Flights from Dhaka's Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport to Jeddah are operated by Airbus 330 aircraft every day of the week.
The airline is tapping into the growing market for Middle East travel. Flights to Saudi Arabia are too few to accommodate the needs of the nearly 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 start flights for the king, and with this Jeddah flight, we tried to fulfill their demand,” he added.
It also plans to serve the millions of pilgrims who travel for the annual Hajj and Umrah pilgrimages.
“From the first flight to Jeddah, we started carrying Umrah passengers. With the start of flight operations to Jeddah, we have included plans to carry our Hajj passengers with the national flag carrier of Bangladesh. This will facilitate the journey of our pilgrims to the holy land,” Islam said.
Last year, high demand for air tickets from Bangladesh to the Middle East caused skyrocketing prices during the Hajj season, deterring many would-be pilgrims from embarking on the spiritual journey.
Founded in 2010, US-Bangla Airlines started as a domestic carrier and has recently expanded its routes to international flights. 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 addition, there are 24 ships in the US-Bangla fleet, while the national flag carrier has 21.
