Shah Alam Nur :Biman Bangladesh Airlines will not fly to New York soon despite the government’s initiative.Several times in the past, the government took initiatives to operate flights to New York; a city inhabited by large number of expatriates, but faced setbacks.Biman stopped its New York flight in 1996 after the FAA slapped a ban on Bangladesh in the absence of the rating.On August 2013, Bangladesh signed an open-sky agreement with the US to resume flights to New York and was granted ‘fifth freedom’ – meaning permission to take transit in a third country while en route to another destination.Biman’s 12-strong fleet now has six Boeing 777 aircraft, suitable for long-routes. They are used to operate flights to cities in the Middle East, all profitable destinations. Earlier, Managing Director of Biman Kyle Haywood declared that Biman would resume operating direct flights from Dhaka to New York within a short time.”We are sorry that we couldn’t manage everything nor remained stick to our plan. That is why, this time we are not saying anything confirmed, but the whole arrangement is going on to start the flights again within short time,” a Director of Biman told The New Nation on Wednesday.When contacted about the resumption of the Dhaka-NY flights, Civil Aviation and Tourism Minister Rashed Khan Menon said, the resumption of the flights is a top priority of his ministry.He said “Biman will use this route again. But we have to follow some formalities before that.”
