After hours of waiting at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in the capital on Sunday, an exhausted passenger is seen sleeping on his luggage as flights to several Middle Eastern destinations remain suspended for the second consecutive day, leaving many expatriates stranded due to the Iran conflict. — FE Photo by K Asad-Uz-Zaman Bangladeshi migrants and other passengers travelling to the Middle Eastern countries faced significant disruptions on Sunday due to the conflicting situation there following the US-Israel attack on Iran.
Hundreds of travellers were stranded at the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka as different airlines cancelled their flights to the Middle Eastern destinations due to the ongoing crisis.
Muklesur Rahman Sabiri, 37, a migrant from Kishoreganj Sadar upazila, was scheduled to travel to Saudi Arabia's capital, Riyadh, on an afternoon flight operated by IndiGo, an Indian low-cost airline.
His flight was set to depart at 3:45pm on Sunday. However, after arriving at the airport, he learned that the flight had been cancelled.
His fellow travellers, Alamgir Bhuiyan, 21, from Nandail upazila in Mymensingh, and Abdur Razzaq, 29, from Phulpur upazila of the same district, faced the same situation.
Speaking to The Financial Express, they said they were waiting for their agent, who had arranged their employment in Saudi Arabia for load-unload work at a private company.
Abdus Sobhan, 35, another migrant from the Bashurhat area of Companiganj upazila in Noakhali, arrived at the airport on Saturday night.
His flight operated by Biman Bangladesh Airlines was scheduled to depart at 5:10pm on Sunday.
However, the flight was later cancelled, even though he had been instructed as recently as Sunday morning to arrive at the airport on time.
"The Biman authorities said they would inform me about the next schedule of my flight. However, they did not clearly say when they would inform me. Now I have to go back to my village as I do not have enough money to stay in Dhaka for a long time," Sobhan said.
Until the war situation stabilises and normal air transportation services are restored, the suffering of the stranded passengers is likely to linger.
Meanwhile, State Minister for Civil Aviation and Tourism M Rashiduzzaman Millat on Sunday said the Middle East-bound flights from Bangladesh that were suspended following the attacks on Iran would be rescheduled, with measures in place to ensure passengers were given adequate notice.
Speaking to reporters at the airport, he said around 54 international flights from Bangladesh were suspended on Saturday due to the escalating situation in the Middle East, affecting routes to the Gulf countries and beyond.
In that context, some planned rotations of Biman Bangladesh Airlines were also kept on hold, he said.
"We have resumed those operations today (Sunday)," he said, adding that flight schedules were being adjusted in consultation with the relevant authorities.
Meanwhile, the government has launched a 24-hour hotline to provide assistance to Bangladeshi expatriates amid the rapidly evolving situation in the Middle East.
In a press release issued on Sunday, the Ministry of Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment urged Bangladeshis living abroad to seek support by contacting its round-the-clock call centre at +8809610102030.
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