B'desh extends ban on all passenger flights until April 7

The Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB) has extended ban on all domestic flights and almost all international flights to April 7 amid a shutdown to stop the spread of the coronavirus.

CAAB spokesman Mohammad Sohel Kamruzzaman told bdnews24.com on Saturday that they have extended the ban by a week.

Cargo flights will operate normally, he added.

Bangladesh and most other countries have already put unprecedented travel curbs to battle the pandemic.

Bangladesh has suspended public transport and closed offices for 10 days until April 4 to keep people at home as part of efforts to stem the outbreak.

Schools and other educational institutions are closed until April 9.

Biman Bangladesh Airlines on Friday said its last flights to the UK, which was not under the purview of a ban on arrivals from Europe, will leave Dhaka on Tuesday and return the following day, reports bdnews24.

Besides Europe, Bangladesh suspended air connectivity with India, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, the UAE, Turkey, Malaysia, Oman and Singapore on March 21.

Out of the rest of the flights, those to and from Thailand also stopped.

Now, some flights to and from China were still operating, officials said.

Bangaldesh has so far reported eight coronavirus cases with five deaths. IANS