In the light of the evolving situation in the Middle East, Biman Bangladesh Airlines has announced the indefinite suspension of flights on four of its Middle Eastern routes.
The affected routes are -- Doha (Qatar), Sharjah (United Arab Emirates), Kuwait, and Dammam (Saudi Arabia).
Biman Bangladesh Airlines General Manager (Public Relations) Boshra Islam confirmed the matter to the media on Monday.
She said that among the airline's Middle East-bound flights that had been temporarily suspended, the routes to Doha, Sharjah, Kuwait and Dammam will remain suspended until further notice. Meanwhile, flights to Dubai and Abu Dhabi will remain suspended until March 10.
She added that the flights may resume later depending on improvements in the situation and subject to approval from the respective airport authorities.
Biman said the situation in the Middle East is being monitored continuously and passengers will be informed of any updates in due time. Passengers seeking updated information about Biman flights have been advised to contact the airline's call centers at 13636 (domestic) or +8809610913636 (international).
Meanwhile, the number of cancelled flights from Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport (HSIA) in Dhaka continues to rise as several countries have closed their airspace following attacks on Iran by the United States and Israel.
From February 28 to March 9, a total of 335 flights have been cancelled.
On Monday, 33 flights were cancelled. These include two flights of Kuwait Airways, six of Air Arabia, two of Gulf Air, four of Qatar Airways, four of Emirates, four of Jazeera Airways, four of Flydubai, three of Biman Bangladesh Airlines and four of US-Bangla Airlines.
In a press release on Monday, the Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB) said that following the attacks on Iran by Israel and the United States, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Qatar and Jordan closed their airspace starting February 28, which disrupted flight schedules at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport.
As a result, multiple airlines began cancelling flights from that day. The breakdown of cancellations includes 23 flights on February 28, 40 on March 1, 46 on March 2, 39 on March 3, 28 on March 4, 36 on March 5, 34 on March 6, 28 on March 7, and 28 on March 8.
