The Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB) has again updated its flight guidelines, considering the Covid-19 pandemic situation around the globe.
In the latest guidelines, issued on August 16, the countries in all three travel categories were reshuffled. A total 11 countries remain in Category A (strict restrictions), while 16 countries are now listed in Category B (partial restrictions) and all other countries are in Category C (minimal restrictions).
Regardless of the category, all incoming passengers must possess rt-PCR Covid-19 negative certificates. The rt-PCR test should be done within 72 hours of the flight departure time.
Meanwhile, Biman Bangladesh Airlines flights to India were set to resume on Sunday, but they could not as the authorities in India did not grant the requisite permissions, Biman Deputy General Manager for Public Relations Tahera Khandaker said.
Category A: Strict restrictions
The 11 countries listed in Category A under the latest travel guidelines are Argentina, Botswana, Cuba, Cyprus, Eswatini, Georgia, Iran, Libya, Malaysia, Mongolia, and Spain.
Passengers travelling from these countries who are not Bangladesh citizens will not be allowed to enter Bangladesh, regardless of whether they are fully vaccinated or not.
Fully vaccinated Bangladeshi citizens travelling from these countries will be allowed to enter Bangladesh, considering they were vaccinated at least 14 days before the travel date. Upon arrival, they must complete mandatory, 14-day strict home quarantine.
If Covid-19 symptoms are detected or observed in any passengers on arrival, they may be sent to government authorized hospitals for further check-up. Depending on the intensity of the symptoms, the passenger concerned may be sent for isolation at government-nominated facilities or hotels at the passenger's own expense.
Bangladeshi citizens travelling from the 11 countries who are not fully vaccinated will not be allowed entry to Bangladesh.
However, Bangladeshi expatriates residing in these 11 countries and Bangladeshi nationals who visited there in the last 15 days are allowed to return to Bangladesh, provided that they have the special approval or authorization from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Bangladesh.
According to the CAAB circular, Bangladeshi seafarers or ship engineers who have signed off from a ship from this group of 11 countries within 15 days of travel to Bangladesh can return, provided they possess proper evidence of their profession and sign-off.
Upon arrival to the country, seafarers and marine engineers will have to complete a mandatory 14-day institutional quarantine at government-nominated hotels at their own expense.
All incoming and outgoing passengers, except children below 10 years old, must possess an RT-PCR negative certificate. The PCR test should be done within 72 hours of the flight departure time.
In the previous travel guidelines, issued on June 4, the countries listed in Category A were Argentina, Bahrain, Bolivia, Brazil, India, Malaysia, Maldives, Nepal, Uruguay, Paraguay, and Trinidad and Tobago.
Category B: Partial restrictions
The 16 countries listed in Category B under the latest travel guidelines are Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, France, Iraq, Ireland, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Namibia, Netherlands, Panama, South Africa, Thailand, Tunisia, and the UK.
Passengers travelling from these countries who were fully vaccinated at least 14 days before their travel date will be allowed entry to Bangladesh. Upon arrival, they must complete a 14-day strict home quarantine.
If any Covid-19 symptoms are detected or observed on arrival, the passenger concerned must complete a 14-day institutional quarantine at government nominated hotels at the passenger’s own expense.
Passengers travelling from these countries who have not been fully vaccinated must complete 14-day institutional quarantine at government nominated hotels at their own expenses. Proof of hotel booking must be provided during check-in, and it must be verified by airlines representatives before the issuing of boarding passes.
Passengers from these 16 countries may transit through the Group A countries, but they must stay in the transit airport under close supervision of the airlines.
Countries listed in Category B under the previously issued guidelines were Belgium, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Denmark, Greece, Kuwait, and Oman.
Group C: Minimal restrictions
All countries not listed in Category A or B are considered to be in Category C. All passengers travelling from countries in this category must quarantine at home for 14 days on arrival.
As with passengers in other categories, passengers may be sent to government nominated hospitals for check-up or into institutional quarantine if Covid-19 symptoms are detected or observed.
