Saudi-bound expatriate workers gathered at the office of Saudia, the Saudi Arabian airlines, at Sonargaon Hotel in Dhaka on Sunday as the authorities began rescheduling and reconfirming tickets after cancellation of a number of flights on Saturday.
A chaotic situation remained there as the expatriates were anxious over getting fresh tickets on their expected dates. Expatriates alleged that ticket seekers were not following the serial as well as health guidelines in COVID-19 situation.
No one from Saudia talked to the media officially.
Many of the expatriates were seen happy after getting the fresh tickets and some others remained gloomy as their visas were about to expire.
Ayasha Begum was seen worried as she would require to have the COVID-19 test again though her flight would be in less than 24 hours.
Ruhul Amin from Khulna said that his visa would expire on April 26 and his flight was scheduled for April 21. “Saudi airline authority asked the passengers whose ticket were in between April 14 and April 21 to reschedule or reconfirm them. So, I am here and I am worried whether I could get the ticket for my desired date,” he said.
The expatriates said that visas of many of them would expire in next two to three days and they were in great danger. They alleged that no one was listening to them.
The government imposed a strict lockdown from April 14 to April 21 and the Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh suspended all international flights to and from Bangladesh for a week.
Due to the wee-klong ban, around 20,000 to 25,000 expatriate workers were in uncertainty about reaching their workplaces. Later, the government took a decision to operate special flights to five countries including Saudi Arabia.
But the move stumbled on the first day on Saturday as half of the scheduled flights were cancelled on the day.
Many expatriates had demonstrations in front of the driveway at the airport facing an uncertainty. Later, the government official assured the workers that efforts were being made to send them to their destination on special arrangements as the flights were cancelled.
