Turkish Airlines, the national flag carrier of Turkey, has decided to start re-issuing return tickets for Italy-bound Bangladeshi migrant workers, who are stuck in the country due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Turkish Airlines Marketing Manager A Sattar Siddique confirmed the matter on Sunday.
Passengers with valid resident permits could fly to Italy, he said. They can collect their return tickets from the airline’s Gulshan sales office.
Ticket aspirants are required to fill up a form with personal information including their name, mobile number, ticket number, and expiry date of the residence card.
A Sattar also said that passengers with residence cards that are set to expire soon are being prioritized.
Earlier, on October 15, Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen said Italy had withdrawn a flight embargo for Bangladeshis with valid stay permits.
It is estimated that there are at least 2,000 migrant workers with valid residence permits for Italy.
The Turkish Airlines is currently operating seven scheduled flights per week on the Dhaka-Istanbul-Dhaka route.
The Turkish Airlines flight TK-712 leaves Istanbul for Dhaka on Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, and the flight TK-713 leaves Dhaka for Istanbul on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, and Sundays.
The airline resumed its flights to Dhaka on July 17 after a long hiatus due to the coronavirus pandemic, which started on March 22.
Two more airlines -- Qatar and Emirates are also carrying Bangladeshi passengers to Italy under transit.