Biman Bangladesh Airlines will re-issue free tickets for those who are unable to go to their workplaces even after purchasing tickets in the face of new restrictions by different Middle East countries.
Civil Aviation and Tourism Secretary Md Mohibul Haque said this while talking to journalists at his office on Tuesday. Meanwhile, adequate precautionary measures have been taken at the airport to prevent corona infection, he said.
About fight suspension with the United Kingdom, the aviation secretary said, “Bangladesh is on alert as a new type of coronavirus has recently spread from Britain. Observing the overall situation a quick decision will be made whether the flight will be stopped or not.”
When asked about the flight suspension with two Middle East countries, he said, “We haven’t stopped operating flights with any country. Our plane cannot go because they are not giving us access. We did not stop flights in the Middle East. Our plane could not go because they stopped international flights.”
About the coronavirus's adverse impact on the country’s aviation and tourism sector, Mohibul Haque said, “Due to coronavirus, Bangladesh has so far lost more than Tk 3,000 crore in aviation and about Tk 2,000 crore in the tourism sector”.
“As a single ministry, our Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism has suffered the most. Everything including our planes, airports, tourism, hotels, motel, and resorts have been damaged severely. We were slowly moving to a new level due to the timely decision of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. We regained the situation a bit. Maybe again we are going to face a similar problem,” he added.
Till Monday this week, 29 airlines operated flights in Bangladesh. Of all the flights, the number of passenger flights was 196, and the number of cargo flights was 74.
Many countries have already suspended flight operations as the deadly coronavirus has surged again.
Moreover, Oman has again suspended all international flights for a week due to the ongoing critical situation of the coronavirus. As a result, all flights of Bangladesh Biman with the country have been canceled in the next one week.
Biman deputy general manager (Public Relation) Tahera Khondoker in a press release said that all flights of Bangladesh Biman to Muscat have been canceled from Tuesday (December 22) due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Passengers of the canceled flights will be given tickets on a priority basis subject to vacancies after the subsequent resumption of flights.
Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia has announced a one-week suspension of all international flights due to the rise in coronavirus outbreaks. The ban has been in effect since Monday (December 21).
While talking to a private television channel on Monday, Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen said, “A decision needs to be taken to suspend all flights to international routes to prevent the second phase of coronavirus infection.”
