EgyptAir, the national flag carrier of Egypt, is scheduled to operate direct flights on the Cairo-Dhaka route on May 14.
The airline had initially received permission from the Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB) to operate two weekly flights – on Wednesdays and Sundays to and from Dhaka, an EgyptAir told Dhaka Tribune.
CAAB Assistant Director (Air Transport) Md Wahiduzzaman signed the permission letter on March 29.
Requesting anonymity, the EgyptAir official said the airline would transport passengers using Boeing 787-9 aircraft on the Cairo-Dhaka-Cairo route.
EgyptAir would seek permission from CAAB to operate more weekly flights, the official added.
Industry insiders said the commencement of flights on the route would give a boost to the aviation sector and expand the country's air transport network.
Sabre Market Intelligence figures reveal origin and destination traffic between Bangladesh and Egypt two countries totalled 17,320 two-way passengers in 2019, with Cairo-Dhaka accounting for 75% of the traffic on a city pair basis.
In the absence of direct flights, about 35% of passengers flew one-stop to Cairo via Dubai. Sharjah was the second-largest one-stop market in 2019, followed by Jeddah, according to Sabre Market Intelligence.
EgyptAir operates passenger and freight services to 81 destinations in Africa, Europe, Asia and the Americas.
