160 Bangladeshis stranded in UAE return home

A special flight of US-Bangla Airlines today repatriated 160 Bangladeshi nationals stranded in United Arab Emirates for over three months following suspension of regular flights due to Covid-19 pandemic.

The special chartered flight carrying the Bangladeshis took off from Dubai International Airport at 4:00am (local time) and landed at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka at 10:58am, said Kamrul Islam, general manager (public relations) of US-Bangla Airlines.

The flight was operated with the support of Bangladesh Air Force Welfare Trust to facilitate the repatriation of Bangladeshi expatriates stranded since middle of March in Dubai.

Each of the passengers from Dubai had a coronavirus negative certificate and were allowed to go to their respective homes with advice of staying in self-quarantine, said sources at Dhaka airport.

A large number of expatriate Bangladeshis have been stranded in various cities in the UAE for more than three months due to Covid-19 pandemic.