302 Bangladeshi nationals return from India, S Korea on special flights

A total of 302 Bangladeshi nationals, who were stranded in India and South Korea amid flight suspensions due to the Covid-19 pandemic, returned home today on separate special flights.

Of the Bangladeshis, 240 arrived from India's Kolkata and Chennai on two separate flights of US-Bangla Airlines and Biman Bangladesh Airlines while a chartered flight of Korean Air brought back 62 Bangladeshis from South Korea at 6:40pm, Group Captain Touhid-ul Ahsan, director of Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport, told The Daily Star.

The Korean Air aircraft is scheduled to leave Dhaka tomorrow morning for Seoul carrying South Korean nationals who have been stranded in Dhaka since the coronavirus outbreak, he said.

"The Biman flight from Kolkata landed at HSIA at 3:50pm," Tahera Khandaker, deputy general manager (public relations) of Biman, told The Daily Star.

The US-Bangla Airlines flight from Chennai landed at 2:45pm, said an official of Aviation Security at HSIA.

Meanwhile, 340 citizens of Canada left Dhaka for Toronto on a chartered flight of Qatar Airways, Canadian High Commission in Dhaka said.

"We thank the Government of Bangladesh and Qatar Airways for their support," Canadian High Commissioner to Bangladesh Benoit Prefontaine said in a message after departure of the flight.

Canada is considering the fourth and final special flights from Dhaka to Toronto on May 18.

Earlier today, 154 passengers, mostly British citizens, left Dhaka for UK at 12:09pm by a chartered flight of Biman Bangladesh Airlines that is scheduled to bring back around 130 stranded Bangladeshi students from UK tomorrow morning.

The Bangladesh government suspended air communication with all countries except for China from March 16 to prevent spread of coronavirus.