Bangladeshi carriers gain fifth freedom usage of Japan
On January 29, the Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB) and the Japan Civil Aviation Bureau (JCAB) have signed an extension to their existing bilateral agreement, allowing 5th freedom rights on flights between the two countries, the Dhaka Tribune newspaper has said.
Currently, there are no direct flights between Japan and Bangladesh, but by adding the fifth freedom rights, this could supply the additional stimulus allowing services to commence. ICAO defines the 5th freedom of the air as "the right or privilege, in respect of scheduled international air services, granted by one state to some other state to place down and to undertake, in the territory of the first state, traffic via or destined to a third state."
Biman Bangladesh Airlines (BG, Dhaka) has previously operated flights to Japan. The 2x weekly service had an end in Bangkok Suvarnabhumi, but as a result of previous more restrictive bilateral, it was unable to grab passengers to or from Thailand and carry them to Japan.
With increased trade between your countries, indirect passenger volumes have already been rising, driving the Bangladesh authorities to get removing the restrictions on air travel. Following a new accord, Biman is likely to introduce flights between Dhaka and Tokyo Narita, as well as other Japanese destinations. As a part of the revised bilateral agreement, Bangladeshi airlines can operate passenger and cargo flights to all or any airports in Japan, except Tokyo Haneda.
There continues to be more work to accomplish before Bangladesh's airlines will be able to take full advantage of the agreement. "Biman Bangladesh, plus the private airlines of the country, will be able to operate in Japan due to this agreement," said CAAB Chairman Mafidur Rahman to the newspaper. "But to use a flight, we are looking for permission from authorities of several countries. So, we are starting all of the official procedures soon."
Source: https://www.ch-aviation.com