A special Air India flight successfully evacuated 205 individuals, including six infants, from Dhaka to New Delhi on Wednesday morning. The chartered flight, operated with an A321 neo aircraft, departed for the Bangladeshi capital late Tuesday, overcoming significant infrastructure challenges at Dhaka airport amid escalating political turmoil in Bangladesh.
The special evacuation flight returned to New Delhi early Wednesday with 199 adults and six infants on board. The flight, which initially took off from New Delhi without any passengers, was arranged at very short notice. Despite the challenging conditions, Air India managed to coordinate the operation efficiently.
Indian airlines resume operations to Bangladesh
Air India announced the commencement of its scheduled operations to Dhaka, with two daily flights from New Delhi starting Wednesday. The airline had earlier cancelled its Tuesday morning flight but successfully operated the evening flight to Dhaka.
In a statement released on Tuesday evening, Air India confirmed that it would operate its evening flights AI237/238 on the Delhi-Dhaka-Delhi sector. Vistara and IndiGo, which had also cancelled their flights to Dhaka on Tuesday, are set to resume their services as scheduled.
Vistara operates daily flights from Mumbai and three weekly services from Delhi to Dhaka. IndiGo typically runs one daily flight from Delhi, Mumbai, and Chennai to Dhaka, along with two daily services from Kolkata.
Waiver for Air India passengers on rescheduling
Due to the prevailing situation in Bangladesh, Air India offered a one-time waiver on rescheduling for passengers with confirmed bookings on any of its flights to and from Dhaka between August 4 and 7. This waiver is applicable for tickets booked on or before August 5.
Political crisis and unrest in Bangladesh
Bangladesh is currently experiencing severe political unrest following the resignation of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. Massive street protests, initially sparked by a job quota scheme, evolved into a widespread movement demanding Hasina’s removal from power. After ruling Bangladesh for 15 years, Hasina resigned on Monday and fled the country.
The protest had initially broken out in July when the Hasina-led government sought to overturn the Supreme Court order that had halted the reservation of more than 50 per cent of government jobs. In 2018, the overall reservation had been reduced to 10 per cent from 56 per cent following student protests that lasted more than four months.
In July, the protest turned violent, leading to hundreds of deaths, mostly of students. There was a short moment of reprieve when the Bangladeshi government released a gazette notification rolling back the reservations. However, protests once again rose as protesting groups demanded the Prime Minister take responsibility for the deaths, issue a public apology, restore internet connection, and reopen higher education institutions. The demonstrations quickly spiralled as protesters sought Hasina’s resignation.
Hasina’s cabinet tried to blame the unrest on its opposition party and accused them of orchestrating a “conspiracy” against Hasina.
Hindus targeted in Bangladesh unrest
On Monday night, 24 people, including an Indonesian citizen, were burned alive by a mob in Jashore district. The mob set fire to the Zabeer International Hotel, owned by Shahin Chakkladar, a leader of the Awami League, resulting in the death of hotel guests trapped in the blaze.
The unrest has also seen attacks on Hindu communities, who make up about 8 per cent of Bangladesh’s population and have traditionally supported the Awami League. Reports indicate that Hindu homes, businesses, and temples have been targeted and vandalised in the wake of Hasina’s ouster.
