Biman's Dhaka-London flight tickets sold out from 24 December ahead of Tarique's return
BNP Acting Chairman Tarique Rahman is scheduled to return to Bangladesh on 25 December, party sources said, adding that he is expected to travel on Biman’s regular flight departing London on 24 December.
All tickets on Biman Bangladesh Airlines flights operating the Dhaka-London route from 24 December to 4 January have been sold out, according to information available on the airline's website.
BNP Acting Chairman Tarique Rahman is scheduled to return to Bangladesh on 25 December, party sources said, adding that he is expected to travel on Biman's regular flight departing London on 24 December.
Ashraful Alam, director (marketing and sales) of Biman, told The Business Standard that passenger demand on European and North American routes usually peaks during this period. "Many expatriates return home during the Christmas holidays," he said.
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Asked whether BNP leaders and activists travelling ahead of Tarique Rahman's arrival may have contributed to the surge in demand, Ashraful Alam said, "That could be one of the reasons. However, we generally experience high pressure on these routes at this time of year."
Biman currently operates five flights a week on the Dhaka-London route, with no flights on Mondays and Tuesdays.
According to the BNP, Tarique is set to land at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport at 11:45am on 25 December. The party disclosed the information in a post on its official Facebook page today (18 December).
Earlier, on 12 December, BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir had also confirmed his return.
Ahead of the homecoming, a BNP team visited the airport today to review preparations.
Speaking to journalists outside the BNP chairperson's political office in Gulshan, the party's Standing Committee member Salahuddin Ahmed said the team inspected arrival arrangements at the airport, travel routes from the airport to Evercare Hospital – where BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia is undergoing treatment – and onward to the party chairperson's residence in Gulshan.
He added that the party's security team has been coordinating separately with relevant government authorities and department heads, and that several meetings have already been held regarding security arrangements.
