550 expat workers cancelling flights daily at last moment after testing Covid-19 positive

Around 550 Bangladeshi expatriate workers, including 200 UAE-bound workers, are forced to cancel their flights every day at the last moment after being diagnosed with Covid-19, sources at the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport (HSIA) said.

Several expatriate workers said they are worried about returning to their workplaces before expiry of their visas.

"I was scheduled to go to Dubai on January 26. As part of the travel requirement, I went through Covid-19 test 48 hours before the flight and tested negative. But I tested positive when I went through Covid-19 test at the airport six hours before the flight," said Jumadin Ahmed, an expatriate worker from Madaripur.

"I am now at a loss on what to do as I had to cancel my flight at the last moment after being infected with Covid-19," he added.

According to rules, a UAE bound passenger will have to test negative for Covid-19 six hours before the flight.

Another UAE-bound passenger, Mohammad Rakibul Hasan, who was scheduled to depart on a Biman Bangladesh Airlines flight on January 25, faced a similar ordeal.

Both Jumadin and Rakibul said the duration of their visa will expire by early February, and they will be in trouble if they cannot return to their workplaces before expiration of their visas.

The airport authorities and the respective airlines of those missing flights are advising those passengers to change their ticket and book a new flight after around two weeks (14 days) as they are expected to recover from Covid-19 within that time.

Sources at the HSIA said around 10,500 passengers, many of them migrant workers, are leaving the country to join their workplaces in different countries from the Dhaka airport.

Analysis of the data of expatriate migrant workers who had to cancel flight after being infected with Covid-19 showed that most of them bought flight tickets with scheduled dates soon before their joining date at the workplace abroad so that they could stay for the maximum possible time of their holiday at home.

As their day of departure comes close, they go to meet with their relatives and friends which in turn raises the risk of Covid-19 infection among them.

Most of the migrant workers whose flights were cancelled said they had no Covid-19 symptoms.