Bangladesh protests: Air India cancels flight services to and from Dhaka with immediate effect

Amid ongoing fresh protests and violence in Bangladesh with Sheikh Hasina resigning as Prime Minister, Air India on Monday announced cancellation of scheduled operation of flights to and from Dhaka with immediate effect.

In a post on X, Air India said, “In view of the emerging situation in Bangladesh, we have cancelled the scheduled operation of our flights to and from Dhaka with immediate effect.”

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The airline further said that they were continuously monitoring the situation and are extending support to passengers with confirmed bookings for travel to and from Dhaka with a one-time waiver on rescheduling and cancellation charges.

“Safety of our guests and crew remains our foremost priority. For more information, please call our 24/7 Contact Centre at 011-69329333 / 011-69329999,” said Air India.

After fleeing Bangladesh, Sheikh Hasina arrived at Hindon near Delhi and is likely to fly to London. Bangladesh army chief Waker-Uz-Zaman said he was "taking full responsibility" after Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was ousted and fled.

Visuals showed people ransacking Sheikh Hasina's official residence and taking away eatables. Protesters also set fire to the Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Memorial Museum at 32 Dhanmondi.

Meanwhile, the Delhi Police has beefed up security at the Bangladesh High Commission. Police have also tightened security outside the Indira Gandhi International Airport.

The Border Security Force (BSF) also issued a "high alert" across all its formations along the 4,096-km India-Bangladesh border in the wake of the developments in the neighbouring country, officials said.

BSF Director General (Acting) Daljit Singh Chawdhary and other senior commanders have landed in Kolkata to review the security situation.

Bangladesh has been engulfed by protests and violence that began last month after student groups demanded scrapping of a controversial quota system in government jobs. Nearly 250 people have been killed in the violence.