In a landmark initiative to ease the travel of Bangladeshi migrant workers, the government has introduced special airfares on the Saudi Arabia-Bangladesh route, setting one-way tickets at approximately Tk20,000.
Sheikh Bashir Uddin, the adviser to the Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism, stated that the goal is to sell a total of 80,000 tickets under this special arrangement.
This initiative is expected to facilitate reunions between workers and their families while significantly boosting the financial standing of the state-owned Biman Bangladesh Airlines.
The scheme will effectively utilise ferry flights, which were previously operated empty during the Hajj season. This strategy creates the realistic potential for Biman to earn additional revenue exceeding Tk100 crore for the first time in its history.
Under this arrangement, the minimum one-way fare for the Madinah–Dhaka and Jeddah–Dhaka routes has been fixed at Tk20,500. Return tickets for the Madinah–Dhaka–Madinah and Jeddah–Dhaka–Jeddah routes will start at a minimum of Tk42,000.
According to the schedule, these special rates for travel to Bangladesh will be effective from 18 April to 25 May.
For return journeys from Bangladesh, the fares will apply from 30 May to 30 June 2026.
Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus lauded the initiative as a significant milestone in implementing migrant-friendly policies.
While thanking the Civil Aviation adviser for taking this step, Yunus noted that such pragmatic decisions would simplify the lives of expatriates and contribute positively to the national economy.
However, Yunus cautioned that past positive initiatives for migrants often collapsed due to a lack of proper management. He stressed that special care must be taken to ensure this new initiative remains 100 percent effective.
