International flights from Sylhet to begin from March

Eighteen years after being declared an international airport, the Dubai-based Flydubai will become the first airliner to start operating international flights out of and to Sylhet airport on March 18, reports UNB. Masum Mia, station manager of Flydubai in Sylhet, said: "We have taken the necessary preparations to start direct flight operations on March 18. In the first three months, flights will run from Sylhet to Dubai, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia for five days a week, and later for seven days a week. "We have already received clearance from Civil Aviation Authorities Bangladesh (CAAB) to start flight operations." A refueling station was set up at the airport at a cost of Tk91 crore in 2015. However, its fuel remains unsold due to the lack of international flights, causing huge losses. The authorities concerned of different private airlines companies, including Air Arabia and Jet Air, will also launch flights from the Sylhet airport soon. According to officials of the airport, around 600 to 700 passengers fly to different destinations on Biman Bangladesh Airlines from Sylhet every day. They have depended solely on the Biman flights, having no other options. Almost 5 million Sylheti epatriates living in the UK, USA and the Middle East face problems due to the lack of direct international flights to and from Sylhet. Airport manager Hafiz Ahmed said renovation work on different portions of the airport was underway, adding that upon completion of all the works, it would become possible to start running the direct international flights. The government has already undertaken an initiative to modernise the airport, which was declared as an international airport on December 20, 1998. Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (Ecnec) approved a Tk453 crore project to strengthen the existing runway and taxiway of the airport. The airport would be modernised in a way that various aircraft, including wide-bodied Boeing 777 model planes, could land and take off from the airport, he said. Sources said the airport was initially used for the operation of domestic flights from Dhaka airport by the national carrier.