Although the foreign minister recently said flights with India will resume today, Biman Bangladesh Airlines, US-Bangla and Novoair said they are yet to get any direction from Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB) in this regard.

CAAB on the other hand said they are yet to get any formal reply from India about resuming flights.

Amid this situation, several hundred Bangladeshis, most of whom went to India for medical purposes, remained in uncertainty about returning to the country by air. Many Bangladeshis waiting for a long time to go to India for treatment are also in limbo.

Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen on Tuesday said operation of flights between Bangladesh and India will resume today.

He said India had agreed to resume on Bangladesh's request, considering demands of facilitating movement of passengers and goods.

CAAB on August 4 sent a letter to India's

Directorate General of Civil Aviation, seeking its approval for resumption on August 11, under an air-bubble agreement.

Air-bubble agreements are arrangements between two countries that allow carriers of both nations to fly passengers either way without restrictions.

"But we are yet to get any reply from our Indian counterpart about the letter. That's why it's hard for us to say right now whether flights will resume from tomorrow [today]," Group Captain Chy M Zia Ul Kabir, member (flight standard and regulations) of CAAB, told The Daily Star.

Biman on Wednesday formally announced plans to operate flights to Kolkata and Delhi from August 22, without mentioning anything about directions to do so.

Asked about the announcement, Biman Managing Director and CEO Dr Abu Saleh Mostafa Kamal told this correspondent, "Like other airlines of the country, we have announced this as part of our preparation to operate flights."

He acknowledged that they are yet to get any direction from CAAB.

Kamrul Islam, general manager of public relations at US-Bangla Airlines, said although they are all set to resume flights with India, they are yet to get CAAB's direction.

He said if flights are resumed, a passenger will have to complete various formalities, including getting tested for Covid-19 within 72 hours of their flight.

Sources in India said it might consent to resume flights with Bangladesh from next week. Initially, flights will resume on Dhaka-Kolkata and Dhaka-Delhi routes.

CAAB in its letter to India had proposed 21 air-bubble flights per week for both countries. The letter also said which categories of passengers could fly.

Regarding capacity restrictions on flights, CAAB said a maximum of 140 passengers in a narrow-bodied (single aisle) aircraft and 200 passengers in wide-bodied (twin aisle) aircraft can be carried.

Apart from Biman, Novo Air and US Bangla, five Indian airlines used to operate flights from Bangladesh on various routes going to India during normal times. The airlines include Air India, Indigo, SpiceJet, Vistara and GoAir.

More than 3,500 Bangladeshis travel to India daily on average. Of them, over 10 percent used to travel for medical purposes.

More than 13.7 million foreigners, including 2.8 million Bangladeshis, took treatment in India between January 2018 and March 2019.