Amid the growing demand ahead of Eid-ul-Fitr, domestic airlines have decided to operate additional flights on different routes to serve more homebound passengers, officials said.

Unusual tailbacks on Dhaka-Chattogram highway, the busiest highway of the country, apparently discourage people travelling by road and thus putting extra pressure on railways and airways.

"Due to the upcoming Eid, the demand is very high now. We're introducing four additional flights to address the demand to some extent," General Manager at Biman Bangladesh Airlines Shakil Meraj told UNB.

He said the additional flights will be introduced on Saidpur, Rajshahi, Jashore and Barishal routes. "Our 80 to 90 percent Eid tickets on various routes have already been sold out," said the Biman official acknowledging that the ticket fare is higher than that of the usual time.

A random checking of a Biman ticket on Dhaka-Saidpur route for June 14 shows the fare is Tk 7,500 (one way) against the lowest normal day fare of Tk 2900 (June 22) while tickets for June 12, 13, 15 have been sold out.   

General Manager (Marketing Support and PR) at US-Bangla Airlines Ltd Md Kamrul Islam said they will also operate additional flights to help passengers get smooth journeys back home.

"We've already applied for additional flight operation and flight schedules. We hope to get the permission and additional flight operation schedules by Sunday or Monday," he told UNB hinting that a good number of additional flights will be introduced.

Asked about ticket fare hike, Kamrul Islam said there is a misperception as all the tickets are not of the same price. "Honestly speaking, we aren't touching the ticket price. In each flight, there're some class tickets which usually are of high fare."

The officials, however, said they are trying to offer nominal fare on return tickets on different routes. Senior Manager (Marketing & Sales) AKM Mahfuzul Alam said their around 90 percent tickets on domestic routes have been sold out. "We'll operate two additional flights each day on three domestic routes - Saidpur, Rajshahi and Jashore," he told UNB.

Private bus operators will start selling advance tickets from May 30 ahead of Eid-ul-Fitr, said the operators. The decision was taken following a discussion with top officials of Bangladesh Bus Truck Owners' Association.

Earl-ier on Thursday, Banglad-esh Railway announced to start the sale of advance train tickets from June 1 ahead of Eid-ul-Fitr. It also announced that seven special trains will operate during the Eid rush, to ensure a hassle-free journey for the public. Earlier, an initial decision was taken to sell advance train tickets from June 2.

Tickets for June 10, 11, 12, 13, 14 and 15 will be available on June 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 respectively. The sale of tickets will begin at 8am and each passenger will be able to buy maximum four tickets, officials said.