Ethiopian Airlines, Air China start operation in Bangladesh from May: CAAB

The Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB) has decided to make all preparations to facilitate flight operations of two new foreign carriers – Ethiopia airlines and Air China – to and from Bangladesh from next month.

"Preparations are underway to facilitate Ethiopian Airlines and Air China to operate flights from next month as part of our goal to turn Bangladesh into an aviation hub," CAAB chairman Air Vice Marshal Mafidur Rahman told BSS on Saturday.

The CAAB has already sent a letter to the Civil Aviation and Tourism Ministry in this regard and informed Biman Bangladesh Airlines to facilitate ground handling services for the two new airlines.

The Ethiopian Airlines is also preparing to commence flights between Addis Ababa and Dhaka from next month, while Chinese state-owned carrier Air China is set to establish direct Beijing-Dhaka-Beijing flights for the first time.

"We are hopeful of starting Addis Ababa-Dhaka-Addis Ababa direct flights in the third week of May. Initially, it will operate five weekly flights,"  said Shohag Hossain, managing director of Rhythm Group, the airline's General Sales Agent in Bangladesh.

Shohag said the route will offer various connecting flights at compatible fares to the Bangladeshi expatriates as the airline, the biggest network in Africa, connects all major cities of Europe and North America from Addis Ababa, the base of the Ethiopian Airlines.

He said the Ethiopian airline that operates to 10 destinations in the US has a plan to conduct daily flights to Dhaka with its Boeing Dreamliner 787 soon after initiating the operation of commercial scheduled flights in Bangladesh.

After a series of consultations in line with diplomatic efforts of the two countries, the civil aviation authorities of Ethiopia and Bangladesh signed the air service agreement in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on 6 December 2023.

Ethiopian Airlines, with 147 aircraft, is Africa's largest airline in terms of carrying passengers, destinations, fleet size, and revenue, while it is ranked as the world's fourth-largest airline by the number of countries served.

On the other hand, Air China has decided to operate two weekly flights on the Dhaka-Beijing-Dhaka route, considering the increasing trend of people to people contact between China and Bangladesh.

Currently, Dhaka has direct flights to two Chinese cities – Kunming and Guangzhou – which forces the official delegates, businessmen and consultants of both countries to reach each other's capitals via other cities in China.

On the Dhaka route, Air China will be operating on 452 routes in total, including 112 international and regional routes, according to the airlines.

As of December 2023, Air China's fleet consists of 497 aircraft including A319, A319neo, A320, A320neo, A321, A321neo, A330, A350 of Airbus and B737, B737 MAX 8, B747, B777 and B787 of Boeing.