Due to the Covid-19 pandemic After a five-month hiatus Two airline companies in Bangladesh have resumed flights between Dhaka and Kuala Lumpur.

National flag carrier Biman Bangladesh Airlines will start flights to Kuala Lumpur from Tuesday, said Md Mokabbir Hossain, managing director and chief executive officer of Biman.

Biman will operate flights to Kuala Lumpur twice a week. Outgoing flights from Dhaka will be on Tuesday and Friday, while return flights will be on Wednesday and Saturday.

“There are many regulations on the Malaysian side for sending passengers to the country, so the main intention of the flight resumption on this route is to bring passengers from Kuala Lumpur to Dhaka,” Mokabbir said.

“We do not really expect passengers to travel from Dhaka. We are initially planning to provide cargo services to Kuala Lumpur. Passenger aircraft will be used for chartered cargo like other international airlines,” he added.

Earlier, private airline US-Bangla Airlines resumed flights on the same route on Sunday.

They will also operate flights on the route twice a week while maintaining all health and travel guidelines from the governments of Bangladesh and Malaysia.

The company will operate flights from Dhaka on Thursdays and Sundays, with return flights from Kuala Lumpur the same days.

The US-Bangla Airlines flights will use the 164-seater Boeing 737-800 aircraft, said the company’s General Manager (public relations) Kamrul Islam.

“The response was low on the first day [Sunday] as flights have been suspended for long time and many people are unaware of the flight resumption. We are expecting better turnouts in days ahead,” he added.