DHAKA, May 3, 2020 (BSS) – A total of 221 more Bangladeshi nationals, who have been stranded in India amid flight suspension due to COVID-19 pandemic, arrived here from Mumbai and Kolkata by separate chartered flights today.
Among the returnees, 162 Bangladeshi nations arrived here from Mumbai and 59 from Kolkata by two separate special chartered flights of Biman Bangladesh Airlines.
“Our special flight from Mumbai landed at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport (HSIA) at 6:55 pm carrying 162 Bangladeshi nationals,” Biman’s Deputy General Manager (PR) Tahera Khondoker told BSS.
Earlier, she said another chartered flight of the national-flag carrier landed here from Kolkata at 3:40 pm bringing back 59 Bangladeshi citizens.
As per the government decision, all the returnee Bangladeshis will be sent to a 14-day institutional quarantine under the management of the Armed Forces Division (AFD) if they fail to show medical certificate at the airport on their arrival here.
From April 20 till today, more than 2,000 Bangladeshis were brought back from India by 13 chartered flights – eight from Chennai, operated by US-Bangla Airlines, and two from New Delhi, two from Kolkata and one from Mumbai operated by Biman Bangladesh Airlines – while the passengers bore the cost of their own tickets.
All the chartered flights were facilitated by the government in coordination with Bangladesh High Commission in New Delhi.
Bangladesh missions in India have kept their efforts on to facilitate the return of more Bangladeshis, who are still stuck up in India.
One more chartered flight of Biman is scheduled to bring back more stranded Bangladeshis from New Delhi on May 5.
On April 3, the foreign ministry issued a statement, saying that nearly 2,500 Bangladeshi citizens, including 1,000 students, were stranded in India due to COVID-19 outbreak.
On April 27, Bangladesh extended the ongoing ban on flight operation for the fourth consecutive time till May 7 to and from all European countries and the nations including India that restricted the entry of Bangladeshis to their territories as well as on all domestic routes over the coronavirus scare.