Egyptian flag carrier EgyptAir has announced plans to launch direct flights to Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh from Cairo beginning November 1 with a twice weekly service.
The airline is expected to utilise its A330-300 aircraft for the six hour flight, bringing down the time taken by the existing flights by half. Earlier, various airlines operated Dhaka-Cairo flights with transits in Middle Eastern countries which took several hours.
This comes as great news for Bangladeshi travel enthusiasts who wish to visit Egypt as it marks the beginning of the bilateral air connectivity between the two countries.
“The starting of flights from November will be a milestone for our bilateral relations,” said Haytham Ghobashy, Ambassador of Egypt in Dhaka, speaking at an event organised on Sep 11, for local media and stakeholders by the embassy, in association with Egyptair, Air Cairo and ALO Dhaka Aviation.
“As Egyptair commences its direct flights between Dhaka and Cairo, it will offer a great opportunity for different stakeholders intending to visit Egypt, Europe, and North America via Egyptair, and would definitely reflect exchanging businesses, cargos, hosting Bangladeshi students in Egyptian universities and tourists who would come to explore the multifaceted Egyptian tourism,” he opined.
“Egypt and Egyptair welcome tourists and passengers from Bangladesh to enjoy the Egyptian hospitality and various cultural heritage. Egyptians have a high regard for the people of Bangladesh and are very inclined to visit this country,” Ghobashy said.
About 25,000 Bangladeshis flew to Egypt annually before the Covid-19 pandemic, and there are more than 25,000 Bangladeshi students enrolled at different Egyptian universities, especially the Al-Azhar University in Cairo.
By Victor Shalton Odhiambo
