195 stranded Bangladeshis returning from Canada

Some 195 Bangladesh citizens stranded in Canada amid the global coronavirus pandemic have left Toronto for Dhaka by a special chartered flight.

Bangladesh High Commissioner to Canada M Mizanur Rahman and Bangladesh consul general in Toronto Nayem Uddin Ahmed saw off the passengers and wished their safe flight at Toronto international airport on Wednesday night (Canada time), said a press release issued by Bangladesh mission in Canada.

It said the chartered aircraft of Qatar Airways is scheduled to land at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka on Friday morning (Bangladesh time) after taking an hour technical stopover in Doha.

The travelling passengers include mostly Bangladeshi students studying in different colleges and universities in Canada, Bangladeshi citizens who went to Canada on tourist and business visas and some expatriate Bangladeshis.

Bangladesh foreign ministry in coordination with Bangladesh high commission in Canada arranged the chartered flight.

On May 14, Bangladesh extended the ongoing ban on flight operation for the sixth consecutive times till May 30 to and from all European countries and the nations that restricted the entry of Bangladeshis to their territories as well as on all domestic routes over the coronavirus fear.

The government has so far repatriated stranded Bangladeshis from different countries – including India, the USA, the UK, Australia, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Japan and South Korea.

A number of countries – including the USA, India, Japan, Canada, Australia, Turkey, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, South Korea, Bhutan, Myanmar and different European nations – have also operated several special chartered flights amid the flight suspension to repatriate their citizens from Bangladesh.