The inaugural freighter flight took off Sylhet's Osmani International Airport with full of cargo as part of Bangladesh's response to India's abrupt suspension of third-country transshipment. A chartered Airbus A330-300 freighter operated by Galistair Aviation departed Sylhet airport Sunday (Apr 27) evening, carrying 60 tonnes of readymade garments (RMG) to Zaragoza of Spain via Dubai while Biman Bangladesh Airlines will provide ground-handling services for the operation, local media reported.
"Today's cargo operation has increased our cargo handling capacity... it will overcome to fulfill the gap of country's export facilities," said Commerce and Civil Aviation and Tourism Adviser Sk. Bashir Uddin while inaugurating the cargo flight operation.
He said the government has taken all initiatives to face the challenges posed by the Indian ban on exporting Bangladesh goods using their airports.
The adviser said a collective effort has also taken to revise civil aviation and ground-handling tariffs to make air cargo services more cost-effective. "We will reduce the cargo cost and make it cheaper even than that cost of transshipment through India," he said.
Bangladesh Ambassador to Mexico M. Mushfiqul Fazal Ansarey and Civil Aviation and Tourism Secretary Nasreen Jahan spoke as the special guests while Chairman of Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB) Air Vice Marshal Md Monjur Kabir Bhuiyan was in the chair. "We are not dependent on anyone – we can, and we will shape our own future. From the soil of Sylhet, goods will now be sent directly to the global market," said Ansarey.
This new journey will open a new horizon of Bangladesh's export capabilities said the Bangladesh envoy. "Today we are inaugurating freighter flight operation from Sylhet and we will start cargo operation from Chattogram airport soon," CAAB chairman Bhuiyan said adding that cargo flight will be operated from the Cox's Bazar airport from June as well.
He said that initially two charted freighter flights will be operated weekly from the Sylhet airport and the frequency to be increased as per the demands.
