Novoair expects to operate charter flight from Kolkata
“If we get permission we will start operating our flights after April 28"
Novoair, which operates flights mostly in domestic routes, is expected to start charter flights from Dhaka-Kolkata during the lockdown to return Bangladeshis from India.
The airline already applied for permission to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to allow them to operate special flights.
"If we get permission we will start operating flights after April 28," Mesbahul Islam, head of marketing and sells of Novoair said.
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"The number of flights will be decided based on the demand," he added.
US-Bangla, a privately owned Bangladeshi airline has started first special flight operation on 20 April from Chennai to bring back Bangladeshi stuck in India. Their operation will continue until 25 April. The ticket price of US-Bangla was around Tk33,000. The high price raised outrage among passengers.
Later, Biman Bangladesh Airlines was asked by foreign ministry to operate one special flight on 24 April.
The price of each ticket for economy class of the special flight will be Tk25,000 and Biman will carry 162 passengers on this flight.
"We will operate one special flight following the government's instruction," said Md Mokabbir Hossain, managing director of Biman.
Further flight operation depends on customer demand and government's decision, he said.
There is no accurate statistic that how many Bangladeshis are stranded there. But roughly 1,500 people is assumed to be there, he said.
All the airlines companies of the country have suspended their flights —both domestic and international— from March 25 due to the coronavirus outbreak.
