Entry ban on passengers from EU, 12 other countries

The government has put a 16-day travel restriction on people coming from European countries, except the UK.

The Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh also restricted the entry of people from Argentina, Bahrain, Brazil, Chile, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Peru, Qatar, South Africa, Turkey and Uruguay.

This ban will be in effect from April 3  to 18, CAAB said in a circular yesterday.

CAAB made the decision after reviewing the spread of coronavirus in Bangladesh and elsewhere, the circular said.

Airlines operating scheduled flights from the aforesaid countries will be allowed to bring only transit passengers to Bangladesh, given the passengers remain inside the terminal building during their transit.

Special flights to and from Dhaka have been suspended, and depending on the situation, regular flights might also get suspended, CAAB Chairman Air Vice Marshal M Mafidur Rahman told reporters at his office.

The number of passengers on flights within Bangladesh might not be reduced since the airlines are ensuring proper health safety measures, he added.

"The airlines have assured us about maintaining health guidelines," Mafidur said.

Thanks to the precautions, air travel is much safer than traveling by other means, he added.

"We asked the airlines not to carry any more than 260 passengers in wide-bodied [with two or more aisles] planes.

"In an airplane with three seats in a row, the person sitting in the middle must wear a face shield. If that passenger feels uncomfortable, the airlines will have to provide him or her with PPE."

The circular said everyone coming to Bangladesh must have a certificate vouching that they tested negative for coronavirus in a PCR machine before leaving for Bangladesh, CAAB said in the circular.

The test must be done no earlier than 72 hours of the flight.

Everyone arriving in the country will have to be in quarantine at home for 14 days while those detected with Covid-19 symptoms on arrival must be in quarantine at a government facility or a government approved hotel at their own expenses, CAAB also said.

Anyone who had been in the aforesaid countries in transit and had left the terminal buildings there would need a new PCR test done in that country. The test should be done no earlier than 72 hours of the flight to Bangladesh.

Besides, they would have to be in quarantine at a government facility or a government approved hotel for four days.

Swabs will be collected for another PCR test, and if they test negative for coronavirus, they will be asked to be in home quarantine for an additional 14-day period.