After a suspension of 73 days, Biman Bangladesh Airlines has resumed its flights on the Sylhet-Manchester route.
On Sunday at 12:50pm, the Biman flight BG-788 departed from Sylhet for Manchester carrying 193 passengers, bringing relief to the Bangladeshi expatriate community in the United Kingdom.
Passenger Mortuza Ali, who was aboard the flight, said he had been waiting a long time for this service to resume. Expressing his joy, he noted that traveling to his destination by this flight would greatly reduce his travel difficulties.
Biman had earlier announced the suspension of flights on this route from May 1 to July 10 to ensure uninterrupted Hajj flight operations for 2025.
This decision had angered many UK expatriates, who feared the Sylhet-Manchester flights might be permanently discontinued. Some had even threatened to stop sending remittances if the flights were closed. Expatriates believe their strong protests compelled Biman to resume operations on this route.
KM Abu Taher Chowdhury, media director of "Voice for Global Bangladeshis", a prominent UK community leader and journalist, expressed his gratitude to Allah for the resumption of the flight. He said they had long struggled for this service and had even appealed to the interim chief adviser on the matter.
Ultimately, Biman responded to their requests. He also demanded direct air connectivity between Sylhet and Birmingham, the UK’s second-largest city. At present, Biman Bangladesh Airlines is the only carrier operating direct flights on the Sylhet-Manchester route, while passengers traveling by other airlines must take a transit elsewhere.
Shahnewaz Majumdar, Sylhet district manager of Biman Bangladesh Airlines, said that due to the Hajj flights, operations on this route had been suspended for over two months. With the conclusion of the Hajj flights, Biman resumed services on this route starting on Sunday.
He said Biman will now operate flights on this route twice a week: departing Sylhet for Manchester on Sundays and Tuesdays, and returning from Manchester to Sylhet on Mondays and Wednesdays. He confirmed that flights on this route will continue regularly from now on.
Biman’s Station Manager Shakil Ahmed informed the media that the flight carrying 193 passengers left Sylhet for Manchester on Sunday.
According to Biman sources, the airline had previously operated three flights a week from Sylhet to Manchester. However, citing ‘passenger shortages’, Biman suddenly reduced the frequency to two flights. Earlier this year, Biman also stopped online ticket bookings from April 1 onward.
Direct flights on the Sylhet-Manchester route began on January 6, 2020.