Biman's direct cargo flight to UK starts on Wednesday

After withdrawal of a two-year ban, direct cargo flight to UK starts tomorrow (Wednesday) as Biman Bangladesh Airlines receives eligibility certificate.

It has received the certificate as a prerequisite to begin the direct flights to UK.

Starting tomorrow it is hoped that Biman Bangladesh will start sending direct air cargo to the UK.

The withdrawal of the UK air cargo ban came following a significant progress in meeting a number of important security conditions at the country’s premier airport.

The British envoy said lifting of the ban came as a result of the ongoing UK-Bangladesh cooperation and joint assessment of Shahjalal International Airport.

Following the recommendation from the UK authorities, Bangladesh government appointed British company Redline Aviation Security Ltd to upgrade security systems and provide training to the airport officials at Shahjajalal Airport and installed Explosive Detective System (EDS) and Explosive Trace Detector (ETD) machines at the airport’s cargo village.

An independent auditor was in Bangladesh to review Biman Bangladesh Airlines’ eligibility for the certificate and came up with the approval recently.

Last month, UK withdrew a two-year-long ban on direct air cargo from Dhaka. During the ban, the cargo used a third-party screening agent in another country before entering UK air space.

Due to the ban the national airline incurred a loss of more than Tk 100 crore last year.

The restriction on cargo flights from Bangladesh was effective for almost two years due to lack of security, lengthiness and quality service.

FU