About nine airlines have brought 433 passengers to Bangladesh without Covid-19 negative certificates, which is mandatory for incoming passengers. The passengers were sent to quarantine following their arrival.
Their arrival comes shortly after civil aviation authorities issued a directive, making Covid-19 negative certificates compulsory for international flights coming to Bangladesh, effective from December 5, aiming to control the second wave of Covid-19.
The directive covers all scheduled international passenger flights of Bahrain, China, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Malaysia, Maldives, Oman, Qatar, Sri Lanka, Singapore, Turkey, UAE and UK to or from Bangladesh.
Following the discovery of the incident, Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport (HSIA) authorities verbally warned the airlines and reported them to the Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB), urging them to take action over the incident.
Director of Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport, Group Captain AHM Touhid-ul-Ahsan said, “I have verbally warned the airlines over the incident. A list of the airlines responsible for this breach of protocol has also been sent to the Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh for further action.”
Airlines are required to inform and guide their passengers about the required documents and procedures well before the departure to avoid inconveniences at the airport, states the directive.
It also states that airport authorities will conduct checks on inbound passengers. If any Covid-19 symptoms are detected in a passenger, he/she will be sent to a government authorized hospital for further checks or kept in an isolation centre depending on the nature and intensity of the symptoms.
Photo credit: Collected
News source: The Daily Observer
