Saudi-Bound Workers: Biman, Saudia cannot take all

Many migrant workers are still uncertain about rejoining work in Saudi Arabia anytime soon as several foreign airlines are yet to resume flights to the kingdom.

Only Biman Bangladesh Airlines and Saudia, the national flag carrier of Saudi Arabia, are operating direct flights to the kingdom. 

Scores of desperate workers, who had returned home on vacation by other airlines, thronged the offices of Biman and Saudia in the capital over the last few days for tickets. But they couldn't get any as the two airlines are only reissuing tickets to those who already had return tickets.

These low-paid migrant workers now fear losing jobs if they fail to reach their workplaces soon.

Before the Covid-19 pandemic halted flights to Saudi Arabia, Biman and Saudia carried about 1.5 lakh passengers and several other airlines around 1.5 lakh from Bangladesh to the kingdom annually, said sources in the sector.

Of these airlines, Biman is now operating nine flights and Saudia eight flights a week. Kuwait Airways, Gulf Air and Etihad are yet to resume flights from Dhaka, said officials at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport.

Qatar Airways, Air Arabia, and Fly Dubai resumed flights, but they are not carrying any transit passengers to the kingdom, they mentioned.

Talking to this newspaper in front of the Biman office in Motijheel yesterday, Mir Morsalin, a migrant worker from Brahmanbaria, said he had a return ticket of Kuwait Airways with a stopover in Kuwait city.

He returned home in February and was expecting to go back to Saudi Arabia on June 29. But the flight was cancelled following suspension of air travel due to Covid-19.

Morsalin said he had been trying to get a new ticket of Saudia or Biman for the last two week but to no avail. Officials of the two airlines told him that at present, they are not issuing any new tickets to Saudi Arabia.

"My residence permit [iqama] will expire in 13 days. If I fail to reach Saudi Arabia by that time, I could lose my job," he said.

Another migrant worker, Mohammad Masum from Cumilla, said he had bought a return ticket of Air Arabia from a travel agency in Al Qassim of Saudi Arabia. He was to fly back to the kingdom on March 30 but the flight got cancelled.

He then communicated the matter to the travel agency which asked him to contact the Air Arabia office in the capital. But the staffers at the office could not say when the airline would resume flights from Dhaka.

"I will be in deep trouble… If I cannot return to Saudi Arabia soon, I will lose my job," he added.

Monsur Ahmed Kalam, president of the Association of Travel Agents of Bangladesh, said around three lakh passengers flew to Saudi Arabia from Bangladesh every year before the Covid-19 pandemic.

Almost half of them used a third carrier other than Biman and Saudia to go to the kingdom, he told this newspaper by phone.

During his recent Kuwait visit, Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen urged the Kuwaiti authorities to resume flights from Dhaka so that Bangladesh migrant workers can return to their workplaces.

Contacted, Air Vice Marshal M Mafidur Rahman, chairman of the Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh, said that if the airlines, which are yet to resume flights from Bangladesh, seek permission, the authority will consider it after scrutiny.

Saudiaresumed its regular flights from Bangladesh to Saudi Arabia on September 23 while Biman started operating non-scheduled flights to and from the kingdom on October 1.

Amid the pandemic, thousands of low-paid migrant workers saw their re-entry visas and residence permits expire as they remained stuck at home upon their return from Saudi Arabia on vacation.

Many of them had to seek help from their sponsors in the kingdom to get their visas and residence permits renewed.