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Bangladesh by plane


Bangladesh by plane

Shahjalal International Airport (formerly Zia International Airport) (IATA: DAC, ICAO: VGZR) (Bengali: শাহজালাল আন্তর্জাতিক বিমানবন্দর), in Dhaka is the main gateway to the country, though Chittagong and Sylhet also receive international flights. The national carrier is , connecting with a few hubs in the Middle East, Asia and Europe. It has a less-than-stellar reputation for punctuality, cleanliness and safety. It is now under re-organization and most international routes have been canceled -- so look at other airlines for now. The private carrier GMG Airlines operates domestic and regional flights to Dhaka from Bangkok, Delhi, Dubai, Karachi, Kathmandu, Kolkata, and Kuala Lumpur, and is far better managed than Biman. It is the best local/regional carrier currently based in Dhaka and may start intercontinental routes soon. Connecting from the Middle East: There are direct flights to Dhaka from Qatar (Qatar Airways) and the United Arab Emirates or Etihad Airways ) through which you can connect to most Asian and European capitals and several North American hubs. Emirates, for instance, serves New York, Toronto and Houston from their Dubai (DXB) hub non-stop -- and then connects to Dhaka via a short four-hour hop. Connecting from East Asia: Hong Kong (Chek Lap Kok) and Bangkok (Suvarnabhumi) are the most convenient nearby hubs to reach Bangladesh from Eastern Asia (Beijing, Tokyo) and points further East (Western United States). Dragonair flies non-stop from Hong Kong to Dhaka (4~5 hours). Hong Kong as a major international hub has very good connections to the rest of the world. Connecting from South East Asia: AirAsia, the region's low-cost carrier, flies direct to Dhaka from Kuala Lumpur. Connecting from North America (East Coast): No direct flights to Dhaka yet. Cathay Pacific has a non-stop route from New York (JFK) to Hong Kong over the North Pole (CX830/831). Then you take a short Dragonair flight to Dhaka. Continental flies to Hong Kong non-stop using the same 16-hour polar route, flying from Newark Liberty (New Jersey). Again - the connection is by Dragonair. Connecting from North America (West Coast): Cathay Pacific, Thai & Singapore Airlines now have non-stop flights from Hong Kong, Bangkok & Singapore (their respective hub cities) to Los Angeles. Singapore Airlines may also have a direct flight to San Francisco as well. These airlines all have direct connecting flights to Dhaka from their respective hubs. Connecting from Australia or South Africa: You're better off connecting via the Bangkok or Singapore hubs (which are served by almost every airline -- it seems). Connecting from Western Europe: British Airways no longer serves Dhaka non-stop from London. Air India now serves Dhaka-London via a short stopover in nearby Kolkata. Connecting from the region (Indian subcontinent or China): Connecting through Indian hubs (Delhi or Mumbai) to Dhaka, because of the proliferation of Indian airlines, can involve delays - though as of early 2008 these are not significant. A large number of Indian airlines (e.g. Jet Airways, through several code-share agreements) have direct flights to Europe, and provide convenient connections to Dhaka. Some regional flights like those operated by Thai Airways stop in Chittagong or Sylhet en route to/from Dhaka. Nearby regional destinations like Kathmandu (Nepal), Paro (Bhutan), Kunming (China) and all Indian cities are readily accessible from Dhaka in under three hours and are served by a great number of private airlines. The most exotic destination from Dhaka is to Paro (Bhutan's Capital) and is served by Druk-Air , the national Bhutanese airline on Sundays (9:00 AM flight taking an hour). The approach to Paro Airport (PBH) is an adventure in itself. Kunming is the other newest exotic addition to Dhaka's air-linked cities and has one flight a week (Thursdays). China Eastern Air Flight 2035 arrives in Dhaka from Kunming (KMG) at 12:40 PM. Flight 2036 then departs at 1:40 PM and takes two and a half hours to reach Kunming - a relaxed hinterland Chinese city which is the capital of Yunnan province. At present (November 2007) this is the only direct air-link to the Chinese mainland from Bangladesh.

The Most Frequently Asked Travel Questions about Bangladesh


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Bangladesh Travel Guide from Wikitravel. Many thanks to all Wikitravel contributors. Text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0, images are available under various licenses, see each image for details.

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