144 Flights Cancelled From Dhaka, 22,021 Passengers Stranded: Cancellations to Continue Until Security Situation Normalises

Cancellations of Saudi-bound flights from Dhaka’s Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport show no sign of stopping. The number of flights cancelled since October 10 reached 144 by Saturday, affecting a total of 22,021 passengers who were due to travel on them. The two-week crisis has thrown the journeys of thousands into uncertainty, with no assurance yet of when the cancellations will end.

Kawsar Mahmud, assistant director of the public relations department of the Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh, provided the figures. According to his account, the 144 flights cancelled between October 10 and October 24 were carrying a combined total of 22,021 passengers — an average of roughly ten cancelled flights a day, which underlines the depth of the disruption.

Of the cancelled flights, 67 were direct services. Biman Bangladesh Airlines accounted for the largest share with 28 cancellations, followed by Saudia with 19, US-Bangla Airlines with 10 and Riyadh Air with 10. Direct air connectivity with Saudi Arabia has therefore been hit hardest, and passengers on those routes are bearing the immediate brunt of the disruption.

Even more transit flights were cancelled — 77 in total. IndiGo accounted for the largest number with 30, followed by Emirates with 14, Qatar Airways with 9, flydubai with 8, Air India with 8, SalamAir with 7 and Egypt Air with 1. With connecting routes to Saudi Arabia through third countries also swept up in the cancellations, finding an alternative path has become still harder for passengers.

Taken together — 67 direct and 77 transit flights, 144 in all — the figures show that the crisis is not confined to a single airline or a single route. At least eleven domestic and foreign carriers appear on the cancellation list. What began as a series of cancellations has become a broad aviation disruption affecting every category of traveller.

The passenger numbers make the picture more alarming still. The cancellation of journeys for 22,021 people means an average of more than 150 passengers affected on every cancelled flight. All of them now face uncertainty over rebooking, new dates and alternative arrangements. For many, such a journey is not mere travel; it can be tied to urgent needs such as work, medical treatment, study or returning to family.

Kawsar Mahmud said the pattern of cancellations will continue unless the security situation returns to normal. The key to ending the crisis therefore lies in an improvement in the security situation rather than in any announced date, and the risk of further cancellations remains until conditions normalise.

The situation has now continued for more than two weeks since October 10 without any definite indication of an end. The cancellation list grows longer every day, and the number of waiting passengers grows with it. The airport-centred crisis has become one of the most widely discussed hardships in the country.

The cancellations are also a major blow to the airlines themselves. Alongside Biman Bangladesh’s 28 and Saudia’s 19 cancelled direct flights, IndiGo has lost 30 flights as a transit carrier. Every cancellation brings schedule rearrangements, passenger management and added pressure on later flights, spreading the impact across entire networks.

All eyes are now on the security situation. The civil aviation official indicated that cancellations will stop once the situation returns to normal, but no timeframe has been given. Until then, Saudi-bound passengers have little choice but to check the latest status of their flight before travelling. When the uncertainty hanging over more than 22,000 passengers will lift remains the biggest question of all.