Dhaka, June 25 (V7N) – Flight cancellations and rescheduling at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka caused serious disruption on Tuesday, leaving hundreds of outbound passengers stranded and frustrated. Many of the affected travelers, bound primarily for destinations in the Middle East and the United States, were not informed of the changes in advance.

Md. Rashedul Islam Sumon, who works in a human resources position at a private company in the United States, had returned to his village home in the Comilla Cantonment area on emergency leave. He was scheduled to depart on a Qatar Airways flight at 10:00 a.m. Tuesday morning. Arriving early at the airport, he was informed by the airline that the flight had been rescheduled to 5:00 p.m. Later, at 1:30 p.m., he was told the flight had been canceled altogether, along with two other Qatar Airways flights.

Speaking to a media outlet in the airport’s rest area for expatriate passengers, Sumon expressed deep frustration. “I work for a private company in the U.S. If I don’t return on time, it could seriously affect my job. The airline officials can’t even confirm when the next flight will leave.” Disheartened, he returned to his home in Comilla.

Ali Hossain, another passenger scheduled to travel to the Middle East, had completed his check-in and boarding procedures online before traveling from Noakhali. Upon arriving at the airport, he too learned that his Qatar Airways flight had been canceled. “I’m facing major difficulties now,” he said. “Getting back to work on time seems impossible.”

Many passengers who had traveled from remote districts reported similar experiences. Stranded outside the departure terminal, some were seen sleeping on pavements due to a shortage of hotel rooms or lack of funds for accommodations. Others battled mosquitoes and exhaustion throughout the night.

Passengers expressed anger at the lack of prior communication from the airlines. They said they had not been informed about flight cancellations in advance, despite having provided contact details during booking.

According to officials from the Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB), the disruptions were caused by temporary airspace restrictions in several Middle Eastern countries. Recent geopolitical tensions between Iran and Israel prompted Qatar, the UAE, Kuwait, and Bahrain to either limit or close their airspace to commercial flights. This led to delays and rerouting of several flights from Dhaka to destinations in the Gulf.

Affected flights included services by Air Arabia, Emirates, Jazeera Airways, Qatar Airways, US-Bangla Airlines, and Biman Bangladesh Airlines. Routes to Sharjah, Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Doha, Bahrain, and Kuwait were all impacted.

CAAB later confirmed that as of early Tuesday morning, the affected countries had reopened their airspace, and normal operations resumed on most routes. However, passengers continued to suffer due to the lack of timely communication and logistical support at the airport.

END/RH/SMA/