Delhi accepts Dhaka’s proposal, Bangladesh-India flights likely to resume

Dhaka: Delhi has agreed to Dhaka's proposal for resuming flights between Bangladesh and India. Meaning, after a four-month long suspension, commercial flights between the two countries will likely resume.

If all goes well, flights between Bangladesh and India are expected to resume this week under a bilateral air bubble agreement, said reports.

Earlier, last week, Bangladesh's Civil Aviation Authority proposed to commence flights to India. According to reports, a ministry official said that the Indian Ministry of Civil Aviation had finally agreed to the proposal after scrutinising various aspects.

The ministry is also holding discussions with Indian airlines on when it will be possible to resume commercial flights to Dhaka and Chattogram.

Meanwhile, Bangladesh High Commissioner to Delhi Mohammad Imran said, "Our proposal was to resume flights under the air bubble agreement from August 11." "Now let's see which date can be finalised after consulting with the Indian authorities," he added.

Reports claimed that officials in Delhi said, efforts are being made to ensure that the flights resume as soon as possible, possibly this week.

Indian airlines like Vistara, SpiceJet, Indigo or Air India, which used to operate regular flights to Dhaka or Chattogram, have also been asked how soon they will be able to resume operations in Bangladesh.

Earlier, in March last year, shortly after the start of the coronavirus pandemic, flights between Bangladesh and India were suspended.

Regular flights between the two countries resumed under an air bubble agreement in late October 2020. However, the flights were suspended again in April 2021 following the devastating second wave of coronavirus in India.

Bangladesh also closed land ports with India in late April to prevent the spread of Delta variants coming from India.

Nevertheless, the entry ban is currently effective and Bangladeshi nationals stranded in India have to apply for special permit from the embassy to return home.