Plane carrying 304 Bangladeshis allowed entry on humanitarian grounds: CAAB

A total of 304 Bangladeshi passengers, including 95 from Italy and Germany, landed at Dhaka airport this evening.

A flight of Qatar Airways carrying the passengers landed at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport at 6:48pm, Air Vice Marshal M Mafidur Rahman, chairman of Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB), told The Daily Star.

The government took the decision on humanitarian grounds, despite CAAB asking all airlines not to carry passengers from European countries -- except UK -- to Bangladesh till March 31, following the coronavirus outbreak around the world.

"We have asked all airlines not to carry passengers from European countries but the foreign ministry has allowed the entry of this flight on humanitarian grounds," said the CAAB chairman.

Of the 304 returnees, 95 from Italy and Germany have been sent to Ashkona Hajj Camp for screening, Dr Zahirul, a doctor at the health desk of the airport, told The Daily Star.

After screening at the camp, the authorities concerned will decide whether the 95 returnees will be kept in mandatory quarantine or self-isolation.   

The other 209 returnees, who came from the UAE on the same flight, were allowed to go to home,  said Dr Zahirul.