US-Bangla flight returns 153 Bangladeshis home from UAE

A total of 153 Bangladeshi nationals have returned home from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on a special flight arranged by US-Bangla Airlines amidst flight restrictions imposed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The flight left Dubai for Dhaka, and landed at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka at 4:35am, said an airport official.

The 153 Bangladeshis, who were stranded in the UAE for over three months because of restrictions over the Covid-19 pandemic, were brought back in the third phase of the repatriation process, said US-Bangla General Manager (Public Relations) Kamrul Islam.

Another special flight arranged by US-Bangla brought home 153 Bangladeshis from the UAE in the second phase of the repatriation process on July 1.

Both of these flights were operated with support from the Bangladesh Air Force Welfare Trust and the UAE government.

All the arriving passengers had Covid-19 negative certificates and were allowed to go home with the condition of remaining in self-quarantine, said an airport health official.

So far, 1,368 people -- who were among a large number of Bangladeshi migrants stranded in various UAE cities for over three months -- have returned home on different flights in the past two weeks.