Biman to look into reducing airfare for Middle East destinations
Amid pressure by expatriates' welfare ministry, Biman Bangladesh Airlines today agreed to look into reducing the exorbitant airfare to different Middle East destination resulting in huge financial burden on the country's expatriate workers.
Top officials of the expatriates' welfare and overseas welfare ministry pressurised Biman at an inter-ministerial meeting at the cabinet division with Cabinet Secretary Khandker Anwarul Islam in the chair, meeting sources said.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel. In the meeting, it was also decided Bangladesh will carry out strong diplomatic efforts so that employers in Saudi Arabia bear the cost of booking hotel on behalf of Bangladeshi workers for their stay in quarantine.
Apart from the exorbitant airfare for workers to Middle Eastern countries, different other issues including priority in ensuring vaccination of outbound workers, sufferings and huge financial cost of Saudi-bound migrant workers due to hotel booking for staying in quarantine and post arrival quarantine and pre departure qurantine for South Korea bound passengers, added the source.
Secretaries of Prime Ministers' Office, Foreign Ministry, Expatriates' Welfare Ministry, Health Ministry, Home Ministry, Civil Aviation Ministry, Chairman, Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh, Biman managing Director and CEO Dr Abu Saleh Mostafa Kamal, among others were present at the meeting.
The inter-ministerial meeting was held following huge sufferings of Saudi-bound migrant workers following issuance of new travel advisory by the Saudi government that says Saudi-bound migrant workers who didn't take Covid-19 vaccine will have to stay in seven days institutional quarantine at designated hotels in Saudi Arabia.
The travel advisory came into effect from May 20.
A Saudi-bound worker needs to spend Tk 60,000 to Tk 70,000 to book hotel for staying in quarantine resulting in huge financial burden on them.
Failing to book hotels, more than thousand Saudi-bound migrant workers missed their flights in the last several days.