Bangladesh approves Fly Jinnah directs flights from Karachi to Dhaka

DHAKA: Bangladesh has granted permission to Fly Jinnah, a private airline, to operate direct flights between Karachi and Dhaka. This marks the resumption of air travel between the two cities after almost a decade. 

Air Vice Marshal Md Monjur Kabir Bhuiyan, Chairman of the Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB), confirmed that Fly Jinnah had applied for approval and it had been granted. 

Following the appointment of a local General Sales Agent (GSA) by the airline in Bangladesh, slots and frequencies would be given. 

 The development has come after the Bangladesh government inked an agreement with Fly Jinnah. The news was confirmed by the Bangladesh envoy to Pakistan, Iqbal Hussain, on January 30.

This has opened up a pathway for this development, which is the next significant stride towards enhancing bilateral relations between Bangladesh and Pakistan.

Relations between Bangladesh and Pakistan became strained because of the close ties between the former Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s government and India.

However, since she was unseated last year, the interim leader Muhammad Yunus has been making amends with Pakistan. In December last year, Yunus met with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in Egypt and declared that both countries agreed to expand their bilateral relations.

 It has been a result of these efforts that direct flights between Karachi and Dhaka have resumed, and it is anticipated to boost trade, tourism, and people-to-people contact between the two countries.