Biman Bangladesh Airlines has decided to suspend its flights to Oman from Tuesday as the country today clamped a travel ban on all foreigners entering it. The move comes in the wake of a few other Middle Eastern nations taking similar steps due to the outbreak of the global coronavirus pandemic.
“As per the travel ban issued by the Supreme Committee of Oman, any non-Omani national will not be allowed to enter Oman, effective from midnight today (Monday) until further notice,” Biman’s Managing Director and CEO Md Mokabbir Hossain told the media today.
He said Biman had suspended all its 14 weekly flights to and from Muscat from Tuesday following the decision by the Oman authorities, reports BSS.
He added that today’s Muscat flight from Chittagong (flight BG121) had been rescheduled for 6:15pm instead of 9:30pm.
Earlier, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Qatar suspended all flights with Bangladesh due to the coronavirus outbreak.
Mokabbir said Biman would operate a special ferry flight from Jeddah at 7:30 am (Saudi Arabia local time) Tuesday to bring back Bangladeshi nationals who had mainly gone to the kingdom to perform Umrah.
Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen had earlier declared that people from Europe and other nations such as Saudi Arabia, which restricted Bangladeshis’ entry into their territories over the coronavirus, could not enter Bangladesh till March 31.
The ban excludes those who would be travelling from Britain.
