The inaugural freighter flight, full of cargo, took off Sylhet鈥檚 Osmani International Airport Sunday evening.
The cargo flight from the airport began in the backdrop of India鈥檚 April 8 suspension of third-country trans-shipment for Bangladesh.
The civil aviation and tourism affairs adviser Sheikh Bashir Uddin inaugurated the flight on Sunday evening at the airport.
He said that the businesses would have the scope to export goods from Bangladesh from now on even at a lower cost.聽
鈥楾he cost of carrying goods to Europe from Dhaka came down by 13 per cent than the previous cost,鈥� he added.
A chartered Airbus A330-300 freighter operated by Galistair Aviation departed Sylhet airport Sunday evening, carrying 60 tonnes of readymade garments to Zaragoza of Spain via Dubai. Biman Bangladesh Airlines will provide ground-handling services for the operation.
The RMG items will be delivered to Inditex, which is claimed to be the world鈥檚 largest fast-fashion brand based in Spain.
The Bangladesh ambassador to Mexico, Mushfiqul Fazal Ansary, and the Civil Aviation and Tourism ministry secretary, Nasrin Jahan, among others, addressed the programme.
Osmani International Airport director Hafiz Ahmed said that exporting goods from the Sylhet region to Spain would have a positive impact on Bangladesh鈥檚 economy.
鈥楩rom now on, one cargo flight will go to Spain per week. If the demand of exporting increases, the number of flights will also be increased,鈥� he said.
He said that it would be possible to export agricultural products produced in the Sylhet region to different European countries including the UK if a packaging house was built in Sylhet.
A modern cargo complex with a capacity of 100 tons has been built at Osmani International Airport at a cost of Tk 26 crore, Hafiz added.
Regarding the cargo shipment from Sylhet, Bangladesh Freight Forwarders Association president Kabir Ahmed said that the service must be consistent.
鈥楾he authority should install all facilities like screening, scanning and all necessary infrastructure to encourage exporters to use the airport regularly,鈥� he added.
However, the success of this initiative will depend heavily on freight rates. Exporters will find it viable if regular flights to Europe can offer freight charges between $2.6 and $2.7 per kilogram.
鈥楨ven with chartered flights, maintaining a freight charge of around $3.5 per kilogram would still be considered competitive,鈥� he added.
He also urged the government not to favour any particular companies in cargo operations at Sylhet and Chattogram airports. Instead, the cargo services should remain open and accessible to all exporters to ensure fair competition and maximize export growth.
Mohiuddin Rubel, a former director of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association, said that increasing competitive capacity was a must in modern business.
鈥榃e use air cargo for exports. The use of air cargo will be higher in the future. In this case, increasing capacity is good for the industry,鈥� he added.
He also urged the government to install air cargo services at other airports.
On April 8, India withdrew the trans-shipment facility that allowed cargo to be exported from Bangladesh to third countries through Indian land customs stations.
India, in a circular dated June 29, 2020, permitted the movement of Bangladeshi export cargo in containers or closed-body trucks via Indian ports and airports.
Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport has long struggled with capacity shortages and operational inefficiencies.
According to the BGMEA, from January 2024 to March 2025, Bangladeshi apparel exporters shipped over 34,900 tonnes of garments worth $462.34 million to 36 countries through Indian airports.
