Biman Bangladesh Airlines has launched special flights to five international destinations, including four in the Middle East, to carry Bangladeshi expatriate workers back to their workplaces, from April 17.
TaheraKhandaker, Deputy General Manager (Public Relations) of Biman on April 15 said, these special flights can be availed to fly to three cities in Saudi Arabia – Riyadh, Dammam and Jeddah, two of the United Arab Emirates – Dubai and Abu Dhabi, Oman’s Muscat, and Qatar’s Doha in the Middle East and the city-state Singapore.
“The passengers who have made reservations for scheduled flights, set to operate after 6:00 am on April 17, are requested to be at the airport with Covid-19 negative certificates six hours before the departure time,” she said.
Earlier, the government halted operations of all domestic and international schedule passenger flights to curb the spread of coronavirus in the country following the strict lockdown for one week from April 14.
However, the special flight services will allow overseas workers currently stuck in Bangladesh to return to their places of work amid the suspension of regular flights.
“Special flights will be arranged for the overseas workers who have got stuck in the country following the government’s strict lockdown. Bangladeshis who work in Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Oman, Qatar and Singapore can leave the country under the special arrangements,” said Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment Minister Imran Ahmad on April 14.
“The five countries are still open for Bangladeshis as there is no problem in those countries,” he added. “The recruiting agencies concerned are responsible for bringing the overseas workers with Covid-19 negative certificates to the airport maintaining all health guidelines,” the minister said.
The minister said, around 25,000-30,000 migrant workers, are currently stuck in the country waiting to get back to their work destinations, referring to the numbers given by the recruiting agencies.
