Emergency landing of Biman flight: Passengers leave Nagpur for Dhaka

Stranded passengers of Biman Bangladesh Airlines have departed from Nagpur International Airport in Maharashtra, India for Dhaka.

Carrying 124 passengers, a flight of the national flag carrier, BG-022, left Nagpur Airport at around 10:25pm (Indian local time) and is scheduled to land at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport at around 12:40am (Bangladesh time).

A passenger, who was on board, confirmed the development to The Daily Star.

Earlier at around 6:45pm, an eight-member rescue team of the national flag carrier left Dhaka for Nagpur to bring back the stranded passengers.

A major tragedy was averted as a Biman flight from Muscat, Oman to Dhaka made an emergency landing at Nagpur airport yesterday after a pilot suffered heart attack, midair.

The flight, BG-022, safely landed at Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar International Airport in Nagpur at around 10:40am (local time), Dr Abu Saleh Mustafa Kamal, managing director and CEO of Biman, told The Daily Star.

The flight was scheduled to land at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport at around 11:30am, said the Biman MD.

Biman Bangladesh Airlines in a press release said the pilot, Capt Nowshad Ataul Qayyum, suddenly fell sick while the aircraft was midair over Raipur, India.

Following contact with the Kolkata Air Traffic Control (ATC) for an emergency landing, the aircraft with the assistance of another pilot, landed at the nearest airport in Nagpur, sources in Biman and HSIA, said.