A large number of Middle East-bound flights from Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka have been cancelled due to the ongoing security situation in the region.
The situation arose after Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Qatar and Jordan announced partial or complete closures of their airspace, airport sources said.
According to airport officials, a total of 500 flights were cancelled between February 28 and March 15.
Data shows that 23 flights were cancelled on February 28, followed by 40 on March 1, 46 on March 2, 39 on March 3, 32 on March 4, 36 on March 5, 34 on March 6, 28 on March 7, 28 on March 8, 33 on March 9, 32 on March 10, 27 on March 11, 28 on March 12, 25 on March 13, and 26 on March 14.
In addition, 23 more flights were cancelled on March 15. The cancelled flights included two flights each by Kuwait Airways, Air Arabia and Gulf Air, four by Qatar Airways, two by Emirates, four by Jazeera Airways, four by Flydubai, one by Biman Bangladesh Airlines, and two by US-Bangla Airlines.
Despite the disruptions, a limited number of flights to the Middle East have continued to operate. According to available information, a total of 539 flights were operated or scheduled between February 28 and March 15.
Among them, flights to Muscat included one on February 28, four on March 1, five on March 2, seven on March 3, eight on March 4, ten on March 5, six on March 6, six on March 7, six on March 8, six on March 9, ten on March 10, eight on March 11, nine on March 12, three on March 13, six on March 14, and six scheduled for March 15.
Flights to Saudi Arabia included five on February 28, 16 on March 1, 13 on March 2, 15 on March 3, 21 on March 4, 22 on March 5, 15 on March 6, 18 on March 7, 16 on March 8, 22 on March 9, 20 on March 10, 18 on March 11, 23 on March 12, 15 on March 13, 18 on March 14, and 21 scheduled for March 15.
