Biman with 379 passengers departs for Dammam amid Houthi attack

Biman Bangladesh Airlines operated a flight to Dammam, Saudi Arabia, carrying 379 passengers amid a series of Houthi attacks on airports across the country.

The flight departed from Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka at 8:00 am on Thursday (October 22).

Shahnur Ahmed, spokesperson for Biman Bangladesh Airlines’ public relations department, confirmed the information to the media. He said the flight had departed for Dammam as scheduled. Asked whether permission had been granted to operate the flight, he said the aircraft had departed because the necessary clearance had been obtained.

Earlier on Wednesday, a Houthi attack on King Fahd International Airport in Dammam killed one person and injured eight others, according to a statement from Saudi Arabia’s civil aviation authority. Several of the injured were in critical condition, and all were taken to hospital for treatment.

On the same day, Saudi air defences intercepted a drone targeting a facility at the Shaybah oil field, operated by state-owned oil giant Saudi Aramco. According to Saudi Arabia’s energy ministry, two people were killed in the incident.

Attacks on airports across Saudi Arabia have taken place amid escalating conflict between the country and Houthi fighters. Saudi Arabia supports Yemen’s internationally recognised government. Last week, Saudi Arabia reported that a missile strike at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh on October 11 killed one person and injured 11 others.

A day earlier, on October 10, a separate attack on the same airport killed 12 people and injured more than 300, according to the Saudi civil aviation authority.

The repeated attacks have led to the cancellation of direct and transit flights from Dhaka to various destinations in Saudi Arabia. By Wednesday, 134 flights had been cancelled, leaving more than 20,000 passengers stranded.

Against this backdrop, Biman Bangladesh Airlines has announced revised flight schedules for its Saudi destinations.

In a notice issued on Wednesday, the airline said a flight to Riyadh would operate on October 25 as the situation had improved. The flight is scheduled to depart Dhaka at 1:25 am Bangladesh time on October 26. Decisions on other Riyadh-bound flights will be made after further assessment of the situation.

Flights on the Dammam route resumed on October 21. Until October 26, flights are scheduled to depart Dhaka for Dammam daily at 8:00 am. Boeing 777 aircraft will be used for these services.

Two flights will operate from Dhaka to Jeddah on Thursday. In addition, one flight is scheduled to depart Dhaka for Jeddah at 7:20 pm daily on October 23, 24 and 25.

Meanwhile, flights to Medina have been operating regularly since October 18, using Boeing 787 aircraft. Operations and schedules on the Medina route will remain unchanged until further notice.