180 flights from Dhaka to Saudi Arabia cancelled, 23,085 passengers stranded
A total of 180 flights from Dhaka to Riyadh and Dammam in Saudi Arabia have been cancelled, leaving 23,085 passengers stranded. Of the flights cancelled between October 10 and Saturday, November 7, 103 were direct flights and 77 were transit flights.
According to sources at the Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB), the cancelled direct flights included 51 of Biman Bangladesh Airlines, 10 of US-Bangla Airlines, 21 of Saudia Airlines and 21 of Riyadh Airways.
Among the transit flights, 30 were operated by IndiGo, 14 by Emirates, nine by Qatar Airways, eight by flydubai, seven by Salam Air, eight by Air India and one by EgyptAir.
A large share of the passengers travelling from Dhaka to Saudi Arabia are expatriate workers and Umrah pilgrims. With so many flights cancelled in less than a month, the travel plans of thousands of passengers have been disrupted.
Kawser Mahmud, assistant director of the public relations department at CAAB, said the cancellations would continue until the situation in Saudi Arabia returns to normal.
His statement makes it clear that it is not yet certain when the cancellations will stop. Whether flights return to normal in the coming days depends on how the situation develops.
Over the period from October 10 to November 7, both direct and transit flights have been affected by the cancellations. Alongside passengers on direct flights, those who had planned to travel to Saudi Arabia via other countries have also been stranded.
The CAAB information did not say how many of the 23,085 stranded passengers have since managed alternative arrangements. It also gave no details about refunds or rescheduling of tickets for passengers whose flights were cancelled.
