BGMEA asks govt to continue Ctg-Bangkok flight

Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) has urged the government to continue Biman's Chittagong-Bangkok direct flight to facilitate business travels between the two destinations.
In a letter on December 14, Nasir Uddin Chowdhury, first vice president of BGMEA, requested Civil Aviation and Tourism Minister Faruk Khan to continue the direct flight of the national carrier.
The Chittagong-Bangkok flight has been a boon, especially for businesspeople in the port city, as it takes only an hour to reach Bangkok via Chiangmai from Chittagong.
Hundreds of people use the route to visit Thailand for business, treatment and other purposes on a regular basis, BGMEA said in a statement.
The government has recently decided to stop operating the direct flight, to be effective from January next year, disappointing the business community of the region.
Businesspeople say the direct flight of Biman has helped the port city turn into a business hub of the region and a tourist city. The flight became popular among garment businessmen.
About 800 garment factories, buying houses and backward linkage factories are located in the port city. For export orders and raw materials, these companies largely rely on overseas buyers and suppliers.
Chowdhury said Bangkok has become an important strategic business area, especially for Chittagong. A number of head offices and branch offices of branded companies are located in the Thai capital.
Many garment buyers fly to Chittagong from Bangkok for business purposes and many of them return to the Thai capital later in the day, Chowdhury said.
“So, there will be an enormous effect on the growth of the industrialisation in Chittagong if the flight is cancelled," he said.
The BGMEA leader urged the minister to take proper measures to continue the flight on the route.