Disruption Hits 159 Flights on Saudi Routes, 22,917 Passengers Affected

Flight operations restrictions at various airports in Saudi Arabia have caused major disruption to air travel between Bangladesh and the kingdom. A total of 159 flights have been affected and 22,917 passengers have suffered as a result.

Squadron Leader Sakib Chowdhury, a flight management officer at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport, gave the figures on Sunday (November 1). According to his account, 82 of the affected flights were direct flights and 77 were transit flights.

Among the direct flights, Biman Bangladesh Airlines has been hit hardest, with 37 of its flights affected. Saudi Arabian Airlines had 20 flights disrupted, Riyadh Air 16 and US-Bangla Airlines 10, according to sources concerned.

The disruption was not limited to direct flights. Passengers travelling via airports in third countries have also faced problems. Of the 77 affected transit flights, India's IndiGo accounted for the most, with 30 flights.

The transit list also includes 14 Emirates flights, nine Qatar Airways flights, eight flydubai flights, eight Air India flights, seven Salam Air flights and one flight from Egypt.

Large numbers of expatriate workers, businesspeople and ordinary passengers travel regularly between Bangladesh and Saudi Arabia, and expatriates returning home on leave also arrive on different flights every day. The disruption has therefore affected travel between the two countries as a whole.

When schedules change or operations are restricted, passengers face long waits at airports, missed connecting flights and the need to rearrange their travel plans. For expatriate workers with fixed dates to rejoin work, the uncertainty has added further pressure.

Sources concerned said the situation arose because flights are being operated on a limited scale at Saudi airports. Uncertainty has been created in the travel plans of Saudi-bound passengers as well as those wishing to return home from Saudi Arabia.

Passengers have been advised by those concerned to contact their airline before travelling to confirm the latest status of their flight.

It is not yet clear how long the flight operations restrictions at Saudi airports will remain in place, so a full return to normal air links between the two countries may take more time.