Air Astra's First Plane ATR 72-600 Arrives In Bangladesh

Dhaka: The upcoming new Bangladeshi private airline Air Astra's first plane ATR 72-600 reached Dhaka Airport on October 7.

The plane departed from Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria on October 5. Through Egypt's Cairo, Oman's Muscat and India's Ahmedabad, the plane eventually reached Dhaka Airport.

French-built ATR 72-600 aircraft is an advanced turboprop aircraft in under-production.

Initially, set back by post-Covid aircraft leasing market uncertainties hindering the airline's plans to launch by Q1 2022, Air Astra has secured three ATR 72-600 aircraft on lease.

By 2023 end, Air Astra plans to induct five more ATR 72-600 aircraft bringing its fleet size to eight aircraft.

The airline recently completed the International Air Transport Association's (IATA) Operational Safety Audit (IOSA) training before the commencement of commercial flight operations.

It is the first Bangladeshi airline to do the five-day IOSA Airline Auditor Training at its own training centre in the capital.

The IOSA program is an internationally recognised and accepted evaluation system designed to assess the operational management and control systems of an airline.

All IATA members are IOSA registered to maintain their IATA membership.

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