Houthi attacks: Passengers travel to Saudi Arabia via 2 alternative routes

With flights to Riyadh and Dammam suspended, passengers travelling to Saudi Arabia are having to use Jeddah and Medina as alternative routes. Biman Bangladesh Airlines has extended the suspension of its Riyadh and Dammam flights by one day, until 18 October.

Following deadly attacks by Yemen’s armed Houthi group, all flights at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh have been suspended since last Saturday. The Saudi government then announced the suspension of flights to Dammam from Tuesday.

In a press release issued on Thursday afternoon, Biman Bangladesh Airlines said it would announce its decision on flights to Riyadh and Dammam later. Private carrier US-Bangla Airlines had already announced the cancellation of its Riyadh-bound flights until 21 October.

Biman said passengers could travel to Saudi Arabia and return to Bangladesh via the international airports in Jeddah and Medina in case of emergency. In response to passenger demand, the airline has replaced the Boeing 787 aircraft on its Medina route with Boeing 777s, increasing the number of seats on each flight by 148.

The airline has also arranged three additional flights on the Jeddah route. Passengers have been advised to contact Biman’s ticket sales offices for further information.

Badrul Islam, a businessman from Lakshmipur Sadar, was booked on a flight to Jeddah scheduled for Thursday 7:30 pm. He is travelling to Saudi Arabia with five family members to perform Umrah. Before boarding, he told Prothom Alo, “The Biman office told us there were no problems with the Jeddah flight. Hopefully, we’ll be able to travel safely.”

Abu Taher, a passenger on Biman’s 7:00 pm flight to Jeddah Thursday, said, “I initially bought a ticket to Riyadh. After the Riyadh flight was cancelled, I am now travelling via Jeddah. I had my ticket changed at the Biman office.” A resident of Muktarpur in Munshiganj, he said this would be his first trip to Saudi Arabia. He will work there at a shop in Riyadh.

Another Riyadh-bound passenger, Tarek Hossain, said he had travelled from Bhaluka in Mymensingh to Biman’s Balaka office near Shahjalal International Airport Thursday morning to get a ticket to Jeddah.

His cousin, Md Hridoy, accompanied him. Md Hridoy is also travelling to Saudi Arabia, but had booked his ticket with US-Bangla Airlines. He told Prothom Alo, “My flight was to Riyadh. That flight has been cancelled. Now I have to change my ticket.”

Outside the Balaka office, another Riyadh-bound passenger, Mokhlesur Rahman, said he was scheduled to fly to Riyadh on a Biman flight at 5:00 pm on the 18th. He had come to exchange his ticket for one to Medina after his flight was cancelled.

During a visit to Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport on Thursday, this correspondent spoke to more than 15 passengers between noon and early evening. Unlike in previous days, passengers whose flights had been cancelled were not seen waiting at the airport. Only those waiting to board flights to Jeddah and Medina were there.

According to information provided by the Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB) on Thursday afternoon, a total of 103 flights have been disrupted since last Saturday. These include direct flights from Dhaka as well as transit flights operating via Saudi Arabia.

Some flights have been suspended, while others have been cancelled, affecting 15,779 passengers. As of 8:00 pm Thursday, when this report was being written, CAAB had not provided any further updates in this regard.

According to CAAB, among direct flights, 17 operated by Biman Bangladesh Airlines, 10 by US-Bangla Airlines, eight by Saudia and seven by Riyadh Air have been disrupted, bringing the total to 42.

Meanwhile, among transit flights, 22 operated by IndiGo, seven by SalamAir, one by EgyptAir, 14 by Emirates, eight by Qatar Airways, six by flydubai and three by Air India have been disrupted. The total number of affected transit flights is 61.