Middle East Airspace Closures Force Widespread Flight Cancellations in Bangladesh

Due to the security situation that has arisen in the Middle East since 28 February, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Qatar, and Jordan have closed their airspace. This has significantly affected international and outbound flight operations.

In this situation, authorities at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport have been compelled to cancel a total of 131 flights over the past four days. Additionally, at Shah Amanat International Airport, a total of 35 international flights, including seven scheduled for Tuesday morning, have been cancelled so far.

Assistant Director (Public Relations) of the Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh, Muhammad Kawsar Mahmud, stated on Tuesday, 3 March, that due to the closure of air routes amid the war-like situation, 23 flights were cancelled on 28 February, 40 on 1 March, 46 on 2 March, and an upcoming 38 flights on 3 March. Altogether, 147 flights have been cancelled.

Airport sources said that 23 flights were suspended on 28 February, 40 on 1 March, and 46 on 2 March. On 3 March, a total of 22 flights were cancelled, including four on the Qatar route, four Emirates flights, four Gulf Air (Bahrain) flights, four flydubai flights, two Kuwait flights, and four Jazeera (Kuwait) route flights.

The list of Tuesday’s cancelled flights includes four Qatar flights, four Emirates flights, four Gulf Air (Bahrain) flights, four Flydubai flights, two Kuwait Air flights, four Jazeera Airways (Kuwait) flights, 12 Air Arabia flights, and four US-Bangla Airlines flights.

Meanwhile, the port authority has stated that until the situation returns to normal, decisions regarding the continuation of flight operations on the affected routes will be taken in coordination with the airlines concerned and relevant international authorities.

DBTech/DPO/EK/OR