The Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB) has extended its suspension of passenger flights to all countries, except for China, till April 30.
CAAB Chairman Air Vice Marshal M Mafidur Rahman told Dhaka Tribune on Saturday that they decided to extend the suspension of all scheduled international flights to and from Bangladesh considering the current global situation of the coronavirus pandemic.
In an official notification later in the day, CAAB said that flights from Bahrain, Bhutan, Hong Kong, India, Kuwait, Malaysia, Maldives, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, Singapore, Thailand, Turkey, UAE and UK will remain halted.
It also said that domestic flights were suspended till the end of April, before adding cargo flights, air ambulances, flights carrying aid, emergency landing and special flights will remain out of the purview of the suspension.
Biman Bangladesh Airlines on Saturday also suspended all of its international and domestic flights until April 30.
The national flag carrier, in a short message service, confirmed the development. The previous suspension was set to expire on April 14.
So far, Biman has cancelled 698 flights following restrictions of flights to different countries as global measures to prevent coronavirus spread.
Earlier, on April 5, CAAB had extended the suspension of passenger flights to all countries, except China, till April 14.
The death toll from Covid-19 in Bangladesh rose to 30 after three more fatalities were reported on Saturday.
Another 58 people also tested positive, taking the tally of infections to 482, said the health authorities.
Meanwhile, the fast-spreading virus has infected more than 1,712,600 and claimed over 103,500 lives globally as of Saturday, according to worldometer.
