241 Bangladeshis stranded in India return home

Two hundred and forty-one Bangladeshi citizens stranded in India for over a month due to flight suspension amid the Covid-19 pandemic, returned home this afternoon.

Of the total, 168 passengers including four infants returned from Chennai by US-Bangla Airlines' flight while 73 returned by Biman Bangladesh Airlines' flight.

The special flight of US-Bangla Airlines landed at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport at 2:58pm while Biman flight landed at 4:10pm, Group Captain Touhid-ul Ahsan, director of the airport told the media through WhatsApp.

From April 20 to till today, around 1400 Bangladeshi nationals most of whom went to India for treatment purpose, were brought back from the neighboring country by nine chartered flights of US-Bangla Airlines and the national airliner -- Biman. Passengers bore the cost of their own tickets for the flights.

Of the nine special flights, US-Bangla Airlines operated seven while Biman operated two.

As per the government decision, all returnees will have to remain in 14-day institutional quarantine if they fail to show medical certificate at the airport on their arrival that they are tested negative with Covid-19.

Bangladesh High Commission in India earlier said they have kept their efforts on to facilitate the return of more Bangladeshis who are still stuck up in India.

US-Bangla Airlines is scheduled to operate one more special flight from Chennai tomorrow and the  national airliner is scheduled to operate three more special flights tomorrow (May 2) and May 5 (from Delhi) and May 3 (from Mumbai) to bring back stranded Bangladeshis, according to Tahera Khandaker, deputy general manager, public relations, Biman and sources at the airport.