Flight will depart Dhaka at 8pm and is scheduled to land at Karachi airport at 11pm
Pakistan and Bangladesh have resumed direct air links after a 14-year gap, with Biman Bangladesh Airlines operating its first flight between Dhaka and Karachi on Thursday.
The Biman Bangladesh Airlines flight BG341 will depart Dhaka at 8pm and is expected to land at Karachi airport at 11pm after a three-hour journey.
Airport authorities and Pakistan’s Civil Aviation Authority said they had received the flight schedule and completed special arrangements for the arrival of the airline’s first flight to Karachi.
Read: Direct Pakistan-Bangladesh flights to resume after 14 years
The resumption of direct air routes between Bangladesh and Pakistan is seen as important for both countries.
Biman Bangladesh Airlines will be operated twice weekly, the first regular flights since 2012.
“We are relaunching the Karachi-Dhaka route with two weekly flights,” airline manager Bosra Islam told AFP.
Pakistan and Bangladesh – geographically divided by more than 1,500 kilometres (930 miles) by India – were once one nation. They split after a bitter war in 1971.
“The resumption of direct flights will significantly improve connectivity between Pakistan and Bangladesh, supporting business travel, tourism, and family reunions,” Biman Bangladesh Airlines said in a statement.
Read more: Pakistan, Bangladesh eye Fifth Freedom Flight to boost trade, bilateral ties
Travellers between Pakistan and Bangladesh must currently use connecting flights through Gulf hubs such as Dubai and Doha.
Cargo ships resumed sailing from Karachi to Bangladesh’s key port of Chittagong in November 2024.
Trade has risen since then and cultural ties have grown, with popular Pakistani singers performing in Dhaka, while Bangladeshi patients are travelling to Pakistan for medical care.
