Disaster in Dhaka skies: Flight bound for Sylhet-Kolkata, over 50 delayed

Continuous rain and adverse weather conditions have caused major disruption to flight operations at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport since early Sunday (July 12). At least two international flights were diverted to Sylhet and Kolkata after they were unable to land in Dhaka due to the bad weather. At the same time, more than 50 arrival and departure flights were delayed compared to their scheduled times.

According to sources at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport, a US-Bangla Airlines flight from Dubai to Dhaka landed at Sylhet Osmani International Airport as it was not possible to land in Dhaka. On the other hand, a China Southern Airlines flight from Guangzhou, China landed at Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport in Kolkata.

In addition, more than fifty aircraft, including Etihad Airways flights from Abu Dhabi, Air Arabia from Sharjah, Emirates from Dubai, FlyDubai and Biman Bangladesh Airlines flights, Biman Bangladesh Airlines flights from Medina and Syedpur, US-Bangla Airlines flights to Jeddah and Chittagong, and Malaysian Airlines flights from Kuala Lumpur to Dhaka, circled in the sky and landed late.

Airport officials said heavy rain overnight Saturday and reduced visibility in the morning caused complications in landing and takeoff of aircraft. Wind was also an issue. In the interest of safety, several flights were diverted to alternative airports and many flights were rescheduled.

Meanwhile, flights arriving from abroad have affected the overall flight operations. Many passengers were waiting in Dhaka since the morning as flights of various airlines landed late. This increased the suffering of passengers waiting at the airport. Many passengers had to wait for several hours.