To the.
Honourable Chairman - Abdul Muyeed Chowdhury & The Honourable CEO - Shafiqul Rahman
Biman Bangladesh Airlines
Balaka, Kumitola
Dhaka -1229

Re: Proposed termination of Biman Route: Manchester – Sylhet – Manchester

AssalamuAlaikum, Dear Sirs,

We the undersigned are petitioning to you with great hope and anticipation that you will carefully consider the plight of the Bangladeshi diaspora in the UK who would be significantly affected by the decision of Biman Bangladesh Airlines to stop the twice weekly flights from Manchester-Sylhet-Manchester from April 2025.

The above route by Biman provides and invaluable service to over 300,000 Bangladeshis living in the north of United Kingdom. Manchester, provides a convenient airport for many northern cities, including Manchester, Oldham, Bradford, Leeds, Sheffield and also further afield from West Midlands, Northeast as well as Scotland and the North Wales.  

The overwhelming majority of the diaspora in the UK are from the greater Sylhet region and having the facility to fly directly to Sylhet from Manchester, has greatly increased the convenience of travelling to our motherland since the route was relaunched in March 2020. Anecdotal evidence suggests that many residents in the UK are travelling more frequently to Sylhet as a direct result of having a direct flight from Manchester which reduces travel time significantly and avoids transits in other countries to reach Sylhet.

Whilst we do not have the official data for the usage of the flight, it is evident that the flights are almost always at capacity and therefore the argument that the route in not profitable is open to scrutiny. Not withstanding the profitability arguments, we humbly would like to remind you that Biman is the national carrier of Bangladesh and as such it has an obligation to consider the impact of its decisions on the Bangladeshi diaspora wherever they may be.

It is undeniable that the suspension of flights from Manchester to Sylhet would cause significant difficulties for the Bangladeshi Community in the North of UK to visit their motherland. The unintended consequences would be that communication and investment by the Bangladeshi diaspora would be substantially weakened.

We sincerely request that you take into cognisant the issues raised in this letter and reconsider Biman’s decision to stop the Manchester-Sylhet-Manchester service.  We look forward to the opportunity of providing further representations in the hope of a positive outcome.

Gaining momentum
Sign this petition