A total of 391 flights between Bangladesh and several Middle Eastern destinations have been cancelled over the past 12 days due to security risks arising from the ongoing war in the region.
Several countries including Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Qatar and Jordan temporarily closed their airspace from 28 February amid the escalating conflict, disrupting regional aviation routes.
The situation has directly affected flight operations at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka and Shah Amanat International Airport in Chattogram.
According to the Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB), 24 flights were cancelled on Wednesday alone as airlines continued to adjust schedules due to the airspace restrictions.
Flight cancellations from Dhaka began on 28 February, when 23 flights were called off.
The number rose to 40 flights on 1 March and 46 on 2 March.
A total of 39 flights were cancelled on 3 March, followed by 28 on 4 March, 36 on 5 March and 34 on 6 March.
Another 28 flights were cancelled on 7 March and the same number again on 8 March.
On 9 March, airlines cancelled 33 flights, while 32 flights were cancelled on 10 March.
Among the flights cancelled on Wednesday were two operated by Kuwait Airways, four by Air Arabia from Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates, two by Gulf Air from Bahrain, four by Qatar Airways, four by Emirates, four by Jazeera Airways from Kuwait and four by flydubai from the United Arab Emirates.
Overall, 391 flights have been cancelled since the regional conflict disrupted air travel routes.
