Bangladesh carriers cancel 3 daily flights to & from India as passenger count declines

At least three Bangladesh carriers cancelled daily flights to and from India as the passenger count continues to nosedive. While two daily flights between Kolkata and Dhaka were cancelled, one carrier also decided to stop daily flights between Kolkata and Chittagong. Several aircraft companies have recently witnessed a decline in flyers opting to visit Bangladesh amid growing unrest in the country.

The attacks on Hindu minorities in Bangladesh and curbs on travel due to Indian visa restrictions also did not help the cause. According to The Times of India, Bangladesh’s flag bearer, Biman Bangladesh, has cut operations between Kolkata and Dhaka from twice daily to a single flight a day.

Meanwhile, the country’s private carrier, US-Bangla Airlines, has also reduced the frequency to Dhaka from twice daily to once. Given the decline in the flyer count, the company has also discontinued the flight to Chittagong. While Indian carrier IndiGo still continues to operate its twice-daily schedule, sources told TOI that the Indian aircraft company is also monitoring the situation in Bangladesh.

The number of flights from Kolkata to Dhaka/Chittagong sees a major dip

According to TOI, the overall number of flights between Kolkata to Dhaka/Chittagong has seen a major dip from 125 in September to just 97 by November. As a result of this, the count of departing passengers has also reduced from 15,479 in Sept. to 12,747 in Nov.

Meanwhile, the number of arrivals to Kolkata from Bangladesh has also seen a dip from 114 in September to 96 in November, resulting in a drop in passenger count from 12,540 in September to 10,121 in November. The overall number of flights between the two nations has been down by half since July. One of the major reasons behind this decline is the unrest in Bangladesh which ultimately led to the demise of former PM Sheikh Hasina’s administration.

As per the report, Bangladesh carriers have been hit the worst by this decline. Biman Bangladesh flights from Kolkata are down from 59 in July to 28 in November while US-Bangla Airlines has seen worse with flight departures down from 84 in July to 24 November.

In contrast to this, IndiGo flight departures have been down from 62 in July to 45 in November, while arrivals during this period are down from 64 in July to 44 as of now, TOI reported. The decline in flyers has also affected the hospitality industry in both countries with a decline in Hotel occupancy by 20 per cent.

With inputs from agencies.