Thousands of passengers travelling between Bangladesh and Saudi Arabia have faced disruption after security-related closures at Riyadh and Dammam airports forced the cancellation of 114 flights from Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport over the past seven days, affecting 17,701 travellers.
The cancellations have disrupted both direct and transit services, leaving passengers facing uncertainty over their travel plans as flight
suspensions are expected to continue until the situation returns to normal.
Kawsar Mahmud, assistant director of the public relations department of the Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB), confirmed the figures on Saturday afternoon.
Of the cancelled direct flights, 18 were operated by Biman Bangladesh Airlines, 10 by US-Bangla Airlines, 12 by Saudia and 10 by Riyadh Air.
Transit services were also affected, with 22 flights operated by IndiGo cancelled, along with seven by SalamAir, 14 by Emirates, nine by Qatar Airways, six by flydubai and five by Air India.
Mahmud said flight cancellations involving the two Saudi airports would continue until operations returned to normal.
The disruption has affected thousands of travellers using the routes, with further cancellations possible if the security situation continues to prevent normal airport operations.