391 Flights Cancelled in 12 Days at Dhaka Airport

Photo: Collected

Flight operations at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka have been badly disrupted as several Middle Eastern countries closed their airspace amid rising regional tensions.

A total of 24 flights were cancelled on Wednesday, pushing the number of cancellations over the past 12 days to 391, according to aviation authorities.

The disruption began after countries including Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Qatar and Jordan temporarily shut their airspace from 28 February due to security concerns linked to the ongoing conflict in the region. The closures have directly affected flights operating between Bangladesh and the Middle East.

Among the flights cancelled on Wednesday were two operated by Kuwait Airways, four by Air Arabia from Sharjah, two by Gulf Air from Bahrain, four by Qatar Airways, four by Emirates, four by Jazeera Airways of Kuwait and four by flydubai.

Aviation officials said cancellations have continued since the airspace restrictions were introduced. There were 23 cancelled flights on 28 February, followed by 40 on 1 March, 46 on 2 March, 39 on 3 March, 28 on 4 March, 36 on 5 March, 34 on 6 March, 28 on 7 March, 28 on 8 March, 33 on 9 March and 32 on 10 March.

With the latest cancellations, the total number of disrupted flights since late February has reached 391, causing significant inconvenience for passengers travelling between Bangladesh and Middle Eastern destinations.