At least 34 more Middle Eastern flights were cancelled to and from Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka city on Thursday, raising the total number of flights cancelled to 210 in the past six days due to the conflict involving the Gulf region, a major destination for Bangladeshi migrant workers.
Hundreds of passengers bound for Gulf Arab countries stayed stranded amid immense sufferings due to the closure of airspaces by Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Qatar, and Jordan, according to HSIA airport security manager for flight management Md Masudul Hasan Masud.
Of the 34 flights cancelled on Thursday, four belonged to Qatar Airways, four to Kuwait Airways, four to Jazeera Airways, 10 to Air Arabia, four to Emirates, two to US Bangla Airlines, two to Gulf Air, and four to FlyDubai, according to the HSIA official.
Meanwhile, 10 flights operated from and to Muscat in Oman, 22 flights from and to Saudi Arabia and four flights from and to Dubai and Abu Dhabi on Thursday.
US-Bangla Airlines on Thursday brought back 27 Biman Bangladesh Airlines flight crew members, who had been stranded in Dubai, along with 378 Bangladeshi passengers, on a special evacuation flight, reported Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha.
After safely landing at the HSIA on Thursday morning, they expressed that they passed anxious days during their stay in the UAE and their safe return had brought relief to their loved ones.
Another special flight is scheduled to arrive in Dhaka on Friday morning as part of the same repatriation initiative.
A total of 23 flights were cancelled on Saturday, 40 on Sunday, 46 on Monday, 39 on Tuesday and 28 on Wednesday.
The United States and Israel jointly launched attacks on Iranian sites on February 28. Iran almost immediately retaliated with its attacks on Israeli and US military bases in the Middle Eastern countries.
