164 more return from India

Another 164 Bangladeshis, who were stranded in Chennai, India for over a month following the outbreak of coronavirus, returned home yesterday by a special flight of US-Bangla Airlines.

The chartered flight landed at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport at around 3:05pm, said an official of the airlines.

Most of the Bangladeshis who returned yesterday had gone to India for treatment, he added.

After completion of health screening, it would be decided who will be sent to self-quarantine or to institutional quarantine, an official at the health desk of Dhaka airport told this correspondent.

Among the first 164 who returned from Chennai earlier on Monday, 142 were advised to stay in self-quarantine at home while 22 were sent to Ashkona Hajj Camp for institutional quarantine, said Md Jahirul, a doctor at the health desk.

US-Bangla is scheduled to operate four more flights from Kolkata and Chennai.

At least 2,500 Bangladeshis including students, tourists and medical treatment seekers remained stranded in different cities of India specially in Chennai, Bangalore, Delhi and Hyderabad due to Covid-19 outbreak, the foreign ministry said in a statement on April 3.

Meanwhile, a flight of Turkish Airlines yesterday brought back 20 Bangladeshi nationals to Dhaka, who were stranded in Turkey due to outbreak of coronavirus, said officials at Dhaka airport.

BIMAN FLIGHT FROM DELHI ON FRIDAY

Meanwhile, Biman Bangladesh Airlines will also operate a special flight from New Delhi on Friday. 

"As per the government's decision, Biman will operate a special chartered flight from Delhi to bring back Bangladeshi nationals in India," Biman Managing Director and CEO Md Mokabbir Hossain told media.

He said the flight would bring back 162 Bangladeshis, and the passengers will bear the cost.

Mokabbir said Bangladeshi nationals can purchase tickets for the flight from Biman's mobile app or website from today until 2pm on April 23.