Biman Bangladesh Airlines was established in January 1972 as the Bangladesh national flag carrier.[1] Operations started on 4 February 1972, initially on a domestic basis and using DC-3 aircraft, with services radiating from Dhaka to Chittagong, Jessore and Sylhet.[2] International operations started on 4 March the same year, covering the London–Dhaka route on a charter basis under a sub-contract agreement with British Caledonian.[3] From 1 January 1973 the same route, serving Gatwick Airport, started being operated by Donaldson International Airways on Biman's behalf.[2] With a stopover in Bahrain, services to London in Biman's own right started on 19 June 1973,[4] initially with a leased Boeing 707.[5] By March 1975, the domestic route network comprised Chittagong, Comilla, Cox's Bazar, Ishurdi, Jessore, Sylhet and Thakurgaon and international services to Bangkok, Calcutta, Dubai, Kathmandu, and London were also provided.[6] Frankfurt was first served in 1986.[7] The carrier's international network comprised 26 destinations in March 2005,[8] but in 2006 services to some of them were discontinued, owing to financial problems of an outdated fleet and a shortage of modern planes, starting with New York City in August that year,[9] followed by some other destinations.[10][11] Frankfurt was resumed in late March 2014.[12][13] But the service proved economically unviable and the destination was again removed from the route network in October the same year[14] and flights to Rome were suspended in April 2015.[15]
The airline had signed a deal with Boeing for ten new aircraft along with options for ten more in 2008.[16] After getting delivery of the new planes, Biman expanded its destinations gradually and increased in-flight amenities, especially onboard Internet and WiFi; mobile telephony; and live TV streams.[17][18] Biman Bangladesh Airlines is certified as safe to fly in Europe by the European Aviation Safety Agency.[19][20] In addition, Biman has also passed the IATA Operational Safety Audit and since then, the airline has resumed flights to some of its previous destinations in Asia and Europe.[21][22] As of May 2019[update], the airline serves 16 cities and destinations in 12 different countries across Asia and Europe. Biman Bangladesh Airlines restarted its direct flights to Delhi in 2019 after a gap of six years.[23] Shortly after, the airline also resumed its direct flights to Manchester which was last served until October 2012.[24] On 27 July 2022, Biman added its newest route to Toronto Pearson International Airport.[25]
List
Following is a list of destinations the carrier flies to according to its scheduled services, as of March 2015[update].[26][27] Terminated destinations are also listed together with both primary and secondary hubs of the airline.[28]
