A total of 266 flights bound for the Middle East have been canceled from Dhaka’s Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in recent days due to airspace closures and heightened security concerns across the region. On Saturday alone, 20 flights were canceled, including those operated by Kuwait Airways, Jazeera Airways, Air Arabia, Gulf Air, Qatar Airways, and Emirates Airlines. The Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh confirmed the cancellations in an official statement.

The closures followed a regional security crisis that prompted Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Qatar, and Jordan to shut their airspace. Biman Bangladesh Airlines has suspended all flights on six Middle Eastern routes until March 8, extending an earlier suspension that began on March 3. Travel agencies have been instructed to inform passengers of the changes.

Emirates Airlines has resumed limited operations after partial reopening of regional airspace and expects to fully restore its network in the coming days, depending on airspace availability and operational conditions.