Saudi–Bangladesh flights made affordable for expatriates at Tk 20,500

Staff Reporter :

Traveling home is set to become more affordable for Bangladeshi expatriates, as a new initiative has reduced one-way airfares between Saudi Arabia and Bangladesh to Tk 20,500.

Commerce Adviser Sk Bashiruddin, also Adviser to the Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism, announced that 80,000 tickets will be offered under the scheme, covering routes between Saudi Arabia and Bangladesh.

He said the programme will not only ease travel for expatriates but also generate substantial revenue for state-owned Biman Bangladesh Airlines. Previously, aircraft operated empty on return legs during Hajj operations, but the new plan will utilize those flights efficiently, potentially earning the airline more than Tk 10 crore in additional income.

Under the initiative, one-way tickets on the Madina–Dhaka and Jeddah–Dhaka routes will cost Tk 20,500, while return fares for Madina–Dhaka–Madina and Jeddah–Dhaka–Jeddah have been fixed at Tk 42,000.
The discounted fares will apply to arrivals in Bangladesh between April 18 and May 25, 2026, and to departures from Bangladesh from May 30 to June 30, 2026.

Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus praised Sk Bashiruddin for launching the initiative, describing it as a significant step toward expatriate-friendly policymaking. He said such pragmatic measures would improve the lives of migrant workers while strengthening the national economy, and stressed the importance of proper implementation, noting that similar initiatives had failed in the past due to weak management.