Saudi airport attack: Five flights from Dhaka cancelled by Sunday morning
A total of five flights from Dhaka had been cancelled by Sunday morning because King Khalid International Airport in Saudi Arabia’s capital, Riyadh, was closed. One of them was a Biman Bangladesh Airlines flight on the Dhaka–Riyadh route. Flights operated by various Saudi Arabian airlines were also cancelled.
According to the Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB), the flights were cancelled because the airport was closed. Biman Bangladesh Airlines informed about the cancellation of its flight from last night.
The cancelled flights included Saudia Airlines flights SV 804 and SV 805, SV 806 and SV 807, and RX 763 and RX 764. Biman Bangladesh Airlines flight BG 339, which was scheduled to fly from Dhaka to Riyadh, was also cancelled.
On Saturday, US-Bangla Airlines flight BS 381 was unable to reach its destination and landed elsewhere. It was scheduled to arrive in Dhaka at 3:10 pm on Saturday but landed at 3:10 am early on Sunday.
In an urgent notice issued on Saturday, Biman Bangladesh Airlines said all flights from Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport had been suspended.
As a result, the airline suspended flights BG 339 and BG 340 on the Dhaka–Riyadh–Dhaka route. Passengers who had booked tickets on the two flights were advised not to go to the airport.
Biman said it was monitoring the situation and would officially announce the latest flight status and revised schedules.
The disruption and changes to flight schedules caused by the situation at Riyadh airport have left passengers facing difficulties. The authorities have advised passengers to contact their respective airlines and check the latest status of their flights before heading to the airport.
According to flight-tracking website Flightradar24, all flights bound for Riyadh had either been diverted or cancelled. A Reuters report said the decision was taken following an explosion at the international airport in the Saudi capital on Saturday.
Reuters, reporting the suspension of flights at Riyadh’s international airport, said the airport authorities had asked passengers to contact their respective airlines before travelling there. They were also advised to check the latest status of their flights.
In addition to the cancellations, Biman issued a notice on Saturday night announcing the suspension of flights BG 339 and BG 340 until further notice. Both flights operate on the Dhaka–Riyadh–Dhaka route.