Desperate expats continue demo for tickets

The expatriates, who got stuck here after returning from Saudi Arabia amid coronavirus pandemic, have continued their demonstration for tickets in front of Saudi Airlines office at Karwan Bazar in the capital on Wednesday.

Md Riaz, a migrant worker said, "Hundreds of workers took position for few minutes on Karwan Bazar intersection. Besides, another group of workers are now agitating before the Ministry of Expatriate Welfare and Overseas employment."

"We are trying to meet the minister", he added.

The workers said that their visas will expire on September 30. They are desperate for tickets as they might lose jobs if they cannot reach their workplaces timely.

The expatriates submitted a letter to a 3-member team of the Foreign Ministry, headed by Additional Foreign Secretary Syed Mohammed Khandaker, on Tuesday demanding a solution to the flight crisis by Friday next.

Meanwhile, a Saudia Airlines flight, carrying about 252 expatriates, has left Dhaka for Riyadh on Tuesday midnight after a long suspension of flights amid Covid-19 pandemic.

Amid the protest, the Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB) on September 22 reinstated its previous decision to allow Saudia Airlines to operate scheduled flights to and from Dhaka from September 23.

Saudia got permission to operate as many flights as required to clear the huge backlog of expatriates stranded in Bangladesh, before their iqamas or visas expire on September 30.

The news came as a relief for the Bangladeshi migrant workers, who got stuck after returning to the country in the wake of a worldwide coronavirus outbreak.