Bangladesh crisis: Special Air India flight brings back 205 passengers
A special Air India flight evacuated 205 people, including six infants, from Dhaka, Bangladesh to New Delhi on Wednesday morning. The chartered A321 neo aircraft departed for the Bangladesh capital late Tuesday. Despite infrastructure challenges at Dhaka airport, Air India managed to operate the flight on short notice. The airlines had to cancel its morning flight on Tuesday due to the ongoing crisis but managed to operate the evening flight.
Why does this story matter?
On Monday, former Bangaldesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina fled the country after resigning amid violent protests. The student protests—ongoing since July—initially called for the abolition of civil service job quotas but have since grown into a broader anti-government movement. The unrest stems from a controversial quota system that reserves up to 30% of government jobs for relatives of veterans from the 1971 independence war. Protesters argue that this system is discriminatory and benefits former PM Hasina's Awami League party.
Airlines to resume regular flights
Additionally, the airline has announced plans to resume its regular schedule of two daily flights from Delhi to Dhaka starting Wednesday. Similarly, both Vistara and IndiGo had to cancel their Tuesday flights to Dhaka. However, they plan to resume their regular services as per schedule. Vistara typically operates daily flights from Mumbai and three weekly services from Delhi to Dhaka, while IndiGo runs daily flights from Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai to Dhaka along with two daily services from Kolkata.
India 'closely monitoring' situation
Air India has extended 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. Meanwhile, Foreign Minister S Jaishankar on Tuesday said that India is "closely monitoring" the situation and is in touch with the Bangladeshi Army. India has decided to prioritize the safety of Hindu minorities in Bangladesh amid reports of atrocities, the government said on Tuesday.
