Sylhet Bureau :
After eight long years, a direct flight operation of national flag carrier Biman Bangladesh Airlines from Sylhet to London is expected to resume in April 2020.
When the direct flight resumes, it is expected to benefit around 500,000 people from Sylhet, Bangladesh, who are currently living in the UK.
State Minister for Civil Aviation and Tourism Md Mahbub Ali recently confirmed the matter to Dhaka Tribune, during an event at the Sylhet Circuit House.
Biman already operates a direct flight from London to Sylhet, but the direct flight from Sylhet to London was suspended on December 15, 2011.
Biman had discontinued the direct flight at the time claiming bad weather, caused by fog, at Osmani International Airport in Sylhet.
Later, the Biman authorities stated they would resume the direct flight from Sylhet to London on February 1, 2012, but they never followed through on that commitment.
The Biman authorities has not given any specific reason as to why it has taken so long to resume the direct flight operations from Sylhet to London. Some officials said the airport did not have proper runway or a refuelling facility.
The refuelling facilities at the airport, which was upgraded to international operations in 1998, was later inaugurated in March 2016.
Speaking to Dhaka Tribune, the state minister for civil aviation and tourism, who initiated the project, said: ‘Around 80-90% of people travelling on this route (Sylhet to London) are from Sylhet.
