Bangladesh-India air bubble flights to resume today

Special flights between Bangladesh and India will resume from today (Sunday) as part of the ‘Air Bubble’ agreement between the two neighbouring countries.

Biman Bangladesh Airlines, the national flag carrier, and US-Bangla Airlines, a private airliner, are set to operate their flights.

The air-bubble flight on Dhaka-Kolkata-Dhaka route will happen two days a week -- Tuesday and Thursday -- from September 5 and that on Dhaka-Delhi-Dhaka route another two days a week -- Sunday and Wednesday -- from September 7, according to Tahera Khondoker, deputy general manager (Public Relations) of Biman Bangladesh Airlines.

Flights of US-Bangla Airlines will leave Dhaka for Chennai from Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport at 10:30am every Sunday and will depart from Chennai at 1:30pm (local time), said US-Bangla Airlines General Manager (Public Relations) Kamrul Islam.

Earlier on Friday, the Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB) accepted the proposal of India’s Ministry of Civil Aviation to resume Air Bubble maintaining the Covid-19 health rules.

On Saturday, the CAAB issued a circular in this regard clearing the way to resume flights between the two countries four months after it was suspended amid the rising Covid-19 infections.

It said all passengers, except those holding tourist visas, can be carried as point to point passengers. However, visa procedures or exit/entry category(s) of passengers may be amended from time to time reviewing the prevailing Covid-19 situation in the country concerned and will apply from the time specified to be effective.

Passengers travelling from Bangladesh to India shall be mandatorily subjected to self-paid confirmatory molecular tests on arrival at the Indian airports concerned (Port of Entry).

Irrespective of the Covid-19 vaccinations, all incoming/outgoing passengers, except the children below 10 years old, shall mandatorily possess RT PCR-based Covid-19 negative certificate from the government-authorised laboratories.

Earlier on October 28, 2020, Bangladesh-India introduced special flights till March 27, 2021 while Biman Bangladesh Airlines, US-Bangla Airlines and Novo Air operated their special flights to India while Indian airlines SpiceJet, Indigo, Air India, Go Air and Air Vistara to Bangladesh.

The flights used to be operated between the airports of Dhaka, Chattogram, New Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai and Chennai depending on passenger demand.