Election rush lifts domestic air travel

With just over a week to go before Bangladesh heads to the polls on February 12, the country’s domestic airlines are enjoying a rare boon. Passenger numbers on some key routes have risen by 5 percent to 10 percent.

The uptick is largely owed to top politicians and their entourages crisscrossing the country to campaign, with faster air travel becoming a more practical option for many.

With only one week left before campaigning officially ends on February 10, senior figures from the BNP and Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami have opted to fly instead of road journeys in their efforts to reach voters of different parts of the country.

Both BNP Chairperson Tarique Rahman and Jamaat Ameer Shafiqur Rahman have lately conducted whistle-stop tours of the southern and northern districts.

The surge is most significant on Sylhet, Saidpur and Rajshahi routes, said officials of the country’s three private airlines.

According to BNP sources, on January 28, a rally of Tarique Rahman in Rajshahi was postponed by a day because no airline seats were available.

Mofizur Rahman, managing director of Novoair, a private carrier, confirmed that demand has climbed by 5 percent to 10 percent on the Sylhet and Saidpur routes thanks to what he calls the “national election fever”

His airline operates 22 daily flights from Dhaka to four destinations — Cox’s Bazar, Sylhet, Chattogram and Saidpur.

Kamrul Islam, who handles public relations for US-Bangla Airlines, the largest private operator in the country, reports similar gains.

Load factors, the proportion of seats filled, have risen by 5 percent to 10 percent on the Sylhet and Saidpur routes, he said.

He notes an additional curiosity. “Many non-resident Bangladeshis living in the United Kingdom are flying into Sylhet ahead of the national election to participate in the fanfare of the polls.”

US-Bangla operates an average of 60 domestic flights daily across six routes to and from Dhaka.

Air Astra, the newest entrant to the market, has also felt the uptick, though its deputy general manager, Mozammel Haque Bhuiya, reckons the boost will not exceed 5 percent.

The airline runs 22 flights a day to Cox’s Bazar, Chattogram, Sylhet and Saidpur.