Sylhet Makes Aviation History as SalamAir Inaugurates Direct Muscat Route

Sylhet's Osmani International Airport celebrated a historic milestone in early September 2026 as SalamAir, Oman's low-cost carrier, launched its inaugural direct flight from Muscat, becoming the first foreign airline ever to operate scheduled services to the city. The inaugural flight's approximately 70 percent seat occupancy indicated healthy demand on the new route, promising strong prospects for the Sylheti community travelling between Bangladesh and Oman. In the same week, the Zakiganj upazila of greater Sylhet was shaken by a deeply troubling discovery as the hanging bodies of a pregnant woman and her four-year-old daughter were found in their family home, prompting a full police investigation.

🏢 SalamAir Opens First Direct Foreign Airline Route to Sylhet

SalamAir, Oman's national low-cost carrier, has written itself into the aviation history of Sylhet, Bangladesh, by launching the first direct scheduled international flight to the city from Muscat International Airport. The significance of this achievement is considerable: Sylhet's Osmani International Airport had previously hosted no foreign airline on a regular direct scheduled service, and SalamAir's arrival marks a genuine breakthrough in the city's international connectivity. The inaugural departure from Muscat recorded a load factor of approximately 70 percent, which aviation analysts typically regard as a commercially viable and encouraging performance for a newly launched international route, reflecting strong underlying demand for the service. With this addition, Sylhet becomes SalamAir's third destination within Bangladesh, complementing the airline's existing network in the country and reinforcing its expanding footprint across the Indian Subcontinent. The Muscat-Sylhet corridor is especially significant for the large and growing Bangladeshi worker community in Oman, many of whom trace their roots to the Sylhet division. Previously, these travellers faced the inconvenience of routing their journeys through Dhaka or another connecting hub, adding both time and cost to trips home. A direct connection now removes that burden entirely, offering Sylheti workers and their families in Oman a far more direct, affordable, and efficient travel option. The route also opens new opportunities for trade, business travel, and cultural exchange between the Sylheti community based in Oman and their homeland. For the broader Bangladesh aviation market, SalamAir's initiative signals growing international recognition of Sylhet as a commercially important gateway and a city whose diaspora connections across the Gulf justify dedicated direct foreign airline service in their own right. [6]

Tragedy Strikes Zakiganj as Pregnant Woman and Daughter Found Dead

A deeply distressing incident shook the community of Zakiganj upazila in the Sylhet district on the evening of Saturday, 5 September 2026. Police recovered the hanging bodies of a pregnant woman, Champa Rani Das, aged 35, and her four-year-old daughter, Hridi Das, from their home in the Dashpara area of Burhanpur village, which falls under Barhal Union in the upazila. The family's patriarch, Ratan Das, is employed as a jewellery trader at Dash Shahgoli Bazar in the local market area of the upazila, and the family had been an established presence within the community. The discovery was officially confirmed by Md Abdur Razzaq, the Officer-in-Charge of Zakiganj Police Station, who stated that the bodies would be sent for post-mortem examination to determine the cause of death. Authorities emphasised that the actual circumstances of the tragedy could only be properly established following the completion of the post-mortem report and a thorough investigation of the scene, after which appropriate legal action would be initiated. Local Union Parishad Chairman Mostak Ahmad Chowdhury spoke with journalists following the discovery and confirmed that both Champa Rani and her young daughter Hridi were found suspended from the same ceiling fan within a single room of the family home. After word of the incident spread through the local area, large numbers of residents gathered at the scene. Chairman Chowdhury described the event as extremely tragic, noting publicly that Champa Rani was pregnant at the time of her death and that the reasons behind the incident remained entirely unknown. He added that investigators were working to understand what may have prompted the tragedy. The case has cast a deep shadow over the community of Zakiganj. [2]

Sources: [6] Biz Today · [2] Views Bangladesh