Biman Bangladesh Airlines has decided to double its weekly flights between Dhaka and Japan's Narita from October 29, coinciding with Prime Minister Tarique Rahman's official visit to Japan, a senior airline official said today.

"We are increasing the frequency on the Dhaka-Narita-Dhaka route from one to two flights a week, with the additional service beginning on October 29," Biman's Director (Marketing and Sales) Md Ashraful Alam told BSS.

He said the national flag carrier would operate flights on the route every Monday and Thursday, strengthening direct air connectivity between Bangladesh and Japan.

Prime Minister Tarique Rahman would travel to Japan on Biman's regular commercial flight for his four-day official visit beginning October 26.

"The Prime Minister will also return home on October 29 aboard Biman's newly introduced Thursday flight from Narita," Alam said.

The decision to increase flight frequency comes nearly three months after Biman resumed its direct Dhaka-Narita-Dhaka service on July 27 this year, restoring Bangladesh's only nonstop air connection with Japan following a suspension of more than a year.

The airline initially relaunched the route with one weekly flight using a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, with plans to increase frequencies depending on passenger demand, commercial performance and aircraft availability.

Earlier, Biman officials said the resumption of direct flights had received an encouraging response from passengers, particularly Bangladeshis living in Japan.

More than 40,000 Bangladeshi students and workers are estimated to be living in Japan, creating growing demand for direct air travel between the two countries.

The route is also considered important for expanding bilateral trade, investment, tourism and people-to-people exchanges.

Biman is exploring potential codeshare arrangements with Japan Airlines (JAL) and Air Canada to establish Narita as a transit gateway for Bangladeshi passengers travelling to North America and other destinations in the Asia-Pacific region.

If finalised, the proposed partnerships could enable passengers to travel beyond Narita to destinations such as Vancouver, Los Angeles and Seoul through connecting services under coordinated ticketing and baggage arrangements.

The Dhaka-Narita route was originally relaunched in September 2023 after a 17-year suspension but was discontinued on July 1, 2025, amid aircraft shortages, operational costs and commercial considerations.

Following the formation of the current BNP government, Biman moved to restore the service as part of broader efforts to strengthen Bangladesh-Japan economic and aviation cooperation.

The latest decision to introduce a second weekly flight is expected to provide greater travel flexibility for passengers while supporting the national carrier's efforts to strengthen the route's commercial sustainability.

Prime Minister Tarique Rahman is scheduled to pay an official visit to Japan from October 26 to 29 at the invitation of Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi.

During the visit, the two countries are expected to hold high-level bilateral talks and explore opportunities to expand cooperation in trade, investment, infrastructure, aviation and human resource development.