Bangladesh partially relaxes domestic flight ban

Restrictions on domestic commercial services in Bangladesh have been partially lifted for one week until April 28, 2021, according to a notice issued by the Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB). A limited number of domestic scheduled passenger flights between selected destinations, as well as corporate helicopter flights and general aviation services by owners of the aircraft only, were allowed to resume from 0700L (0100Z) to 2359L (1759Z) under special consideration, the CAAB announced. All other flights would remain suspended except for medevac and humanitarian/relief services. Restrictions on international passenger flights announced on April 11 would also remain in effect until midnight on April 28, the CAAB said. Biman Bangladesh Airlines (BG, Dhaka), from April 22, would operate flights between Dhaka and Chittagong, Sylhet, Barisal, Jessore, and Saidpur, the airline announced in a statement. The airline said from April 17, it would also be operating special repatriation flights to Riyadh, Dammam, Jeddah, Dubai Int’l, Abu Dhabi Int’l, Muscat, Doha Int’l, and Singapore Changi. US-Bangla Airlines (BS, Dhaka) via Facebook announced it was also resuming domestic flights between Dhaka and Chittagong, Sylhet, Saidpur, Jessore, Barishal, and Rajshahi. NovoAir (VQ, Dhaka) announced the resumption of daily schedules from Dhaka to Jessore, Saidpur, Sylhet, Rajshahi, and Barishal, as well thrice daily schedules to Chittagong. Local reports quoting Touhidul Ahsan, director of Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport, said limited flights would resume on seven domestic routes, but no names were mentioned.