Nearly 3,000 passengers affected by Riyadh airport closure; migrants facing job deadlines, uncertainty
Updated : 12 October 2026, 02:14
Tasneem Tayeb
Md Shahin, left, was scheduled to fly to Saudi Arabia yesterday. He and his brother anxiously check a phone at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport for updates. Shahin and many others were unable to travel to KSA after at least eight flights were cancelled following a Houthi missile strike on Riyadh airport. Photo: Rashed Shumon
Having spent Tk 3.5 lakh to secure a job in Saudi Arabia, Mohammad Hasan was all set to leave Bangladesh yesterday afternoon.
“Now I am waiting, not knowing whether I will reach Riyadh before my visa expires on Monday,” he told The Daily Star at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka at 3:30pm yesterday.
His predicament reflects the uncertainty facing Bangladeshi migrant workers as the security crisis escalates in Saudi Arabia amid attacks by Yemeni Houthis, disrupting air travel, leaving passengers stranded and raising fears over employment, visas and livelihoods.
He planned to wait until 8:00pm or 9:00pm, as his company had assured him of arranging an alternative flight by last night.
“I don’t know what will happen if the promised arrangement falls through. I am the sole breadwinner of a four-member family,” he said.
The disruptions followed Saturday’s attack on Riyadh airport, which killed 12 people, including two Bangladeshis, and injured more than 300. Four injured Bangladeshis are in intensive care at a Riyadh hospital, State Minister for Foreign Affairs Shama Obaed Islam said yesterday.
According to the Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB), eight flights were cancelled after King Khalid International Airport closed, affecting 2,951 passengers. The cancelled flights were two Biman Bangladesh Airlines flights, one US-Bangla Airlines, three Saudia and two Riyadh Air.
Cancellations of connecting IndiGo and Himalaya Airlines services to Dammam were not in CAAB’s tally.
Biman said its Dhaka-Riyadh-Dhaka flights BG339 and BG340, scheduled for October 11 and 12, would remain suspended as the airport closure was extended until 3:00am Bangladesh time today.
It advised passengers not to go to the airport and said rescheduling details would come through official channels. Its Dhaka-Dammam flight BG349, however, departed at 7:50pm, about 30 minutes late, according to Flightradar24.
Many workers learned of the cancellations only at the airport, where they were told to contact their recruiting agencies or employers.
Mohammad Rezaul Karim, from Shyamnagar in Satkhira, had returned to Bangladesh three months ago and was due to resume work in Dammam. He reached the airport around 1:00pm for a connecting IndiGo flight, only to learn at the boarding counter that it was cancelled.
“I waited under the sun without lunch or water,” he said.
Around 7:30pm, his agency told him to spend the night in Dhaka and promised a flight today. Two other Dammam-bound workers, Mohammad Arif and Mohammad Tamim Islam, were also affected.
Saimon, who had returned on September 7 on leave, reached the airport around 1:30pm for a Himalaya Airlines flight to Dammam via Kathmandu. Counter staff told him it was cancelled, and his employer asked him to contact his travel agency.
Mohammad Jahidul Islam, from Daulatpur in Kushtia, arrived for a Riyadh flight with a ticket from his employer. With two children and elderly parents to support, he said, “I am considering returning to my village till further information is provided.”
For some, a deadline adds to the pressure.
Mohammad Shahin, also bound for Dammam via Kathmandu, must return to Saudi Arabia by October 15 or secure a leave extension and permission to travel. Advised to go home to Kushtia and wait for his agency, he was on a ferry to his village around 7:30pm.
Shankar Kumar Das, who had spent four months in Bangladesh, was heading back to Narail to await news. Like Hasan, both Shahin and Shankar are sole breadwinners. Moreover, the two have loans to repay.
Asked why he wanted to return despite the conflict in the region, Shankar said, “I have a family to feed and loans to repay. Conflict or not, I have to go back to work to earn a living.”
Workers from distant districts face wasted journeys to Dhaka, extra travel and living expenses, and no clear idea how long they must wait.
Recruiting agencies are trying to find alternatives.
Mohammad Belayat Hossain of MRJ Global said his agency was working to arrange flights for workers whose IndiGo journeys were disrupted.
But it remains unclear how quickly replacements can be secured, whether workers will bear extra costs, how many of those affected are migrant workers, and whether employers will extend leave for those facing deadlines.
The disruption comes as Bangladesh’s overseas employment market is already under pressure.
According to Bureau of Manpower, Employment and Training (BMET) data, 5,69,979 Bangladeshis received clearance for overseas jobs in January-September, down about 32 percent from 8,38,892 a year earlier.
Saudi Arabia remained the largest destination, with 32,915 clearances in September alone.
It is also the largest source of remittances.
According to Bangladesh Bank, Saudi Arabia contributed $5.85 billion of Bangladesh’s $35.59 billion in 2025-26 fiscal year, and $1.65 billion, or 19.2 percent, of the $8.59 billion received in July-September.
No remittance loss has been recorded so far, but prolonged disruption could cut earnings if workers cannot start jobs or return to existing ones.
The stakes are high for first-time migrants, while returning workers face extra travel costs and days or weeks without income.
For Hasan, the consequences could begin with a missed flight and an expiring visa but go much further.
Having spent heavily on his first overseas job, he risks losing time, money and the chance to earn for his family before his work life in Saudi Arabia has even begun.
When he spoke to The Daily Star yesterday, his visa deadline was just hours away, and he was still dependent on his company’s assurance that a flight would be arranged.