Middle East tensions: 33 more flights cancelled, 245 in a week

Thirty-three more Middle Eastern flights to and from Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka were cancelled on Friday, raising the total number of flights cancelled to 245 over the past seven days due to the ongoing Gulf region conflict, a major destination for Bangladeshi migrant workers.

Hundreds of passengers bound for Gulf Arab countries were stranded amid immense difficulties following the closure of airspaces by Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Qatar, and Jordan, the Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB) said.

Of the 33 flights cancelled on Friday, four belonged to Kuwait Airways, four to Jazeera (Kuwait) Airways, six to Air Arabia (Sharjah-UAE), four to Qatar Airways, four to Emirates Airlines, five to US-Bangla Airlines, two to Gulf Air (Bahrain), two to FlyDubai, and two to Biman Bangladesh Airlines, according to the CAAB.

The United States and Israel jointly launched attacks on Iranian sites on 28 February. Iran almost immediately retaliated with attacks on Israeli and US military bases across Middle Eastern countries.