Int’l Routes: Biman halves flights amid virus scare

Biman has halved its international flights as fewer people are flying due to the global coronavirus outbreak.

The national flag carrier also suspended flight operation to several destinations.

"We have decided to reduce our weekly flights to 68 from 142 on 10 international routes, mainly due to passenger scarcity amid the coronavirus outbreak," Mokabbir Hossain, Biman's Managing Director and CEO, told reporters.

Biman operates international flights to Kuala Lumpur, Kathmandu, Kolkata, New Delhi, Bangkok, Singapore, Jeddah, Medina, Doha, Manchester and Kuwait City.

There will be no flight to Doha until further notice as the Qatar government yesterday imposed a travel ban on people from 14 countries, including Bangladesh.

On Saturday, the Kuwait government announced a seven-day travel ban on people from Bangladesh and six other countries.

Biman then cancelled its flights to Kuwait for two weeks.

Those who bought tickets for Doha or Kuwait will get a full refund from Biman's sales centres, said in a press release.

Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport Group Captain Director Touhid-Ul-Ahsan said China Southern Airlines had stopped its operation from Dhaka while China Eastern was operating only one flight a week instead of seven.

US-Bangla Airlines has also reduced the number of its weekly flights to two from seven to Guangzhou for want to passengers.

Besides, Thai Airways, Singapore Airlines, Saudia and several other airlines have also reduced their flights on different routes, said the HSIA director.

"Around 28 airlines used to carry between 20,000 and 25,000 passengers to and from HSIA per day. The number has significantly fallen," he added.