Water cannon spouted as the inaugural freighter flight took off from Sylhet’s Osmani International Airport with full of cargo, as part of Bangladesh’s response to India’s abrupt suspension of third-country transhipment.
A chartered Airbus A330-300 freighter operated by Galistair Aviation departed Sylhet airport Sunday evening, carrying 60 tonnes of readymade garments (RMG) to Zaragoza, Spain via Dubai while Biman Bangladesh Airlines will provide ground-handling services for the operation.
“Today’s cargo operation has increased our cargo handling capacity … it will help to fill the gap of the 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 Bangladeshi goods using their airports.
The adviser said a collective effort has also been 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 the cost of transhipment 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.
