528 flights cancelled from Dhaka amid Middle East crisis

A total of 528 flights have been cancelled from Dhaka's Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport since February 28 due to the closure of airspace due to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.

The Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB) said this in a press release on Monday.

The agency said that 28 more flights were cancelled on Monday. These include 2 flights by Kuwait Airways, 8 by Air Arabia, 2 by Gulf Air, 4 by Qatar Airways, 2 by Emirates, 4 by Jazeera Airways, 4 by Flydubai and 2 by US-Bangla Airlines.

Airport sources said that due to the closure of airspace, various airlines from several countries including Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Qatar and Jordan had to cancel flights.

Bebichak said that since February 28, multiple flights have been canceled every day. This trend began with the cancellation of 23 flights on that day. Then, 40 flights were canceled on March 1, 46 on March 2, 39 on March 3, 32 on March 4, 36 on March 5, 34 on March 6, 28 on March 7, 28 on March 8, 33 on March 9, 32 on March 10, 27 on March 11, 28 on March 12, 25 on March 13, 26 on March 14 and 23 on March 15.

Authorities said that this major disruption in the airspace between Dhaka and the region was due to the ongoing tension and airspace closure in the Middle East.