News / New lockdown and suspension of passenger flights hit Bangladesh exports

© Matyas Rehak |

A capacity crunch, caused by the suspension of international passenger flights, has increased air freight rates out of Bangladesh by up to 30%, with a particular rise in Dhaka-US lanes.

As the Covid-19 situation worsened, Bangladesh’s government enforced a ‘hard-lockdown’ on 14 April and, since then, all regular passenger flights have been suspended.

About 65% of all air freight out of Bangladesh is carried on on passenger aircraft, according to Kabir Ahmed, president of the Bangladesh Freight Forwarders’ Association, and he says there are no ...