Limits on domestic air travel ease

The Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB) yesterday eased the restrictions on carriers over how many passengers an aircraft could carry on domestic routes effective today.

An aircraft will be able to carry passengers on every seat. However, the aft two rows would be kept aside for suspected Covid-19 patients. 

Previously, planes on domestic routes were not allowed to seat passengers next to each other, unless they were related, and 25 percent of the seats were kept empty.

Speaking to The Daily Star, CAAB Chairman Air Vice Marshal M Mafidur Rahman said due to the growing demand for domestic routes, and since Covid-19 situation was improving, the restrictions on the number of passengers an aircraft could carry have been eased.

He said in addition to the existing health safety measures, operators shall provide face masks to all passengers occupying either an aisle seat on two-abreast rows or the centre seats in three-abreast rows. The carrier shall provide masks to any passenger who asked for it.

Biman Bangladesh, US-Bangla Airlines and Novo Air are now operating flights on different domestic routes.

Due to the pandemic, domestic air travel was suspended in mid March. It resumed on a limited scale on June 1. 

From March 16 the government suspended passenger flight operations till June 16 with all countries, except for China, to contain the transmission of Covid-19 in Bangladesh.

From June 16, flight operations on international routes resumed on a limited scale.