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Biman Bangladesh Airlines resumed its direct Dhaka-Narita-Dhaka flight after 17 years on Thursday night.
The inaugural flight BG 0376 took off from Dhaka's Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport at 11.45pm (local time) and is scheduled to reach Narita International Airport in Japan on September 2 at 9.15 am (local time), reports BSS.
State Minister for Civil Aviation and Tourism M Mahbub Ali inaugurated the inaugural flight of the national flag carrier with Japan ambassador to Bangladesh Iwama Kiminori in attendance.
Chairman of the board of directors of Biman Bangladesh Airlines Mostofa Kamal Uddin, Principal Secretary of the Prime Minister Office Mohammad Tofazzel Hossain Miah, Civil Aviation and Tourism Secretary Md Mokammel Hossain, and Civil Aviation Authority Chairman Air Vice Marshal M Mafidur Rahman also joined the opening ceremony.
The state minister said Biman's direct flight to Narita will boost the bilateral ties, trade cooperation and people to people contact between Bangladesh and Japan.
The state minister expressed his hope that Biman's direct connectivity to Japan will open new doors of trade, tourism and cultural exchanges between Bangladesh and Japan.
He said the direct air connectivity will add value to the ties between Bangladesh and Japan while the two friendly countries have elevated their bilateral relations to a strategic partnership during the recent visit of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in Tokyo.
The new flight will further strengthen the bilateral relations between Bangladesh and Japan as the direct connectivity increases people to people contact between the two nations, he said.
He said the resumption of the Biman's route to Japan is part of the national flag carrier's plan to expand its route to different international destinations.
The state minister hoped that the new flight would give a boost to Bangladesh-Japan bilateral trade and also attract Japanese tourists to visit exciting tourist spots of Bangladesh.
Japanese envoy hoped the Biman's Dreamliner would realise the dream of prosperity of both Bangladesh and Japan.
"Dhaka-Narita could be a promising route for Biman Bangladesh Airlines as we are expecting passengers from our neighbouring countries travellers apart from the local passengers," Shafiul Azim, Managing Director and CEO of Biman Bangladesh told BSS.
The Biman Chief said the national flag carrier is planning to carry its
passengers to Australia, the west coast of the United States and Canada with the help of other carriers via Japan through code sharing.
"We are exploring with other airlines interlinking or code sharing so that we can offer our passengers different routes beyond Japan like a 360-degree airline," Azim said.
He said currently Biman is working with Japan Airlines Ltd (JAL), All Nippon Airways and Air Canada for code sharing.