Airlines cut India flights as tourists drop amid visa suspension
Sources at Bangladesh Biman indicate that even on the reduced flights to Kolkata, Chennai, and Delhi from Dhaka, only 50% of the capacity is being filled
Highlights:
- Novoair to suspend Dhaka-Kolkata flight from 16 Sept
- Biman cuts weekly 60% of India flights
- US-Bangla suspends Ctg-Kolkata flights
Several Bangladeshi airlines have significantly reduced or temporarily suspended their flight operations to India due to a decline in passenger numbers.
Although Indian visa services have resumed on a limited scale after being suspended following the fall of the former government, the number of visas issued remains significantly low, resulting in a passenger shortage, according to airlines.
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Currently, Biman Bangladesh Airlines, US-Bangla Airlines and Novoair operate flights between Bangladesh and India on the Dhaka-Kolkata, Delhi, Chennai, and Mumbai routes, along with India's Vistara Airlines, Air India, and IndiGo.
Mes-Bah-Ul Islam, head of Marketing and Sales at Novoair, a private airline operating between Dhaka and Kolkata, told TBS, "Many people cannot go to India due to visa issues. Due to the low number of passengers, we are suspending our Kolkata flight from the 16th."
He added, "We used to operate one flight daily. Since 1 August the number had dropped to three flights a week. Once the situation normalises, we will resume flights to Kolkata."
Boshra Islam, general manager (PR) of Biman Bangladesh Airlines, told TBS, "Due to the decline in passengers over the past few weeks, we have reduced the number of our flights. We used to operate two flights daily to Kolkata, but now we are operating one. The number of flights to Delhi has been reduced from three to one per week, and to Chennai from three to one."
Sources at Bangladesh Biman indicate that even on the reduced flights to Kolkata, Chennai, and Delhi from Dhaka, only 50% of the capacity is being filled. However, there are slightly more passengers on return flights from these cities to Dhaka.
US-Bangla Airlines General Manager (PR) Md Kamrul Islam told TBS, "We have reduced the number of our flights. Tourist visas are completely closed now. Other visas are also closed, which is why the number of flights from Dhaka to Kolkata has been reduced from 14 to 6 per week."
He also said that the daily flight from Chattogram to Kolkata has also been suspended. The number of flights from Dhaka to Chennai has been reduced from 11 to 5 per week.
"The number of passengers will continue to decline. There has been a passenger crisis for almost a month. We hope that the policymakers of the two countries will quickly resolve the visa issue that India is currently facing. We are facing significant losses due to the passenger crisis," he added.
After the fall of the Hasina-led government, India's visa services were suspended. Later, they were resumed on a limited scale, with pending passports returned to passengers. A large portion of those who received their passports were denied visas.
The Indian government has recently started issuing visas on a limited scale for medical and study purposes only. As a result, those planning to visit India for travel or other purposes are being deprived, leading to a continued passenger shortage on flights.
