Civil Aviation and Tourism Minister Rashed Khan Menon yesterday assured that flights of Bangladesh Biman Airlines which were previously operated from the Barisal Airport would soon be resumed on the Barisal-Dhaka-Barisal route.
Menon, who also hails from Barisal, made the statement while visiting the airport and exchanging views with journalists and civil society members.
He said Barisal Airport was the gateway to the southern region of the country and could play a significant role in expanding the tourism industry and also facilitate relief operations in this natural disaster-prone region.
Therefore it needs to be expanded, modernised and connected with the national and international network, said the Workers Party chief.
Built in 1985 on 163 acres of land, Barisal Airport was turned into an abandoned cattle-grazing field in the absence of flight operation in 2009, until United Airways started operating domestic flights on the Dhaka-Barisal-Dhaka route on April 25, 2013.
The domestic airport was also used by the foreign cargo planes for carrying relief materials sent by different countries to Sidr hit 11 southern districts after the catastrophe occurred in 2007.
Awami League lawmakers- Talukdar Md Yunus, Sheikh Md Tipu Sultan, Shawkat Hossain Hiron, and Golam Sarwar, editor, daily Samakal, were present at the meet among others.