Sylhet: Dubai-based airlines 'Flydubai' started its direct flight operations to and from Sylhet Osmani International Airport on Wednesday.

The inaugural flight from Dubai to Sylhet reached the airport at 3:15 pm on Wednesday and departed for Dubai at 5:40 pm with 169 passengers on board.

Civil Aviation and Tourism Minister Rashed Khan Menon received the 140 passengers of the aircraft upon their arrival at the airport. Earlier in the day, the flight left Dubai for Sylhet around 7:55 am.

Regarding the launching of direct Dubai flights, the authorities held a press conference where Civil Aviation and Tourism Minister Rashed Khan Menon spoke as a chief guest.

Eighteen years after the Sylhet airport was declared an international one in 1998, the operation of international flights to and from the airport started on Wednesday with 'Flydubai' being the first.

According to the airport authorities, some 600-700 passengers leave the airport for different destinations by the flights of Biman Bangladesh Airlines every day.

Almost 50 lakh expatriates of the Sylhet region have been living in the UK, the USA, and the Middle East countries. They have to undergo a lot of sufferings due to the lack of direct international flights.