Biman Flight Denied Permission To Land In Kathmandu

A Biman Bangladesh Airlines flight carrying 114 passengers was forced to return to Dhaka on Tuesday afternoon after being denied landing permission in Kathmandu, following the suspension of international flights amid ongoing youth protests in Nepal.

“Our BG0371 flight, operated by a Boeing 737, had to turn back as all international operations at Kathmandu’s Tribhuvan International Airport were suspended until 12:30 am tonight,” a Biman spokesperson told BSS.

The flight left Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport at 12:30 pm as scheduled and was due to land in Kathmandu at 2:00 pm local time.

“But as the aircraft prepared to approach the airport, it was not given clearance to land,” said ABM Rawshan Kabir, Biman’s General Manager of Public Relations.

After circling Kathmandu’s airspace for nearly 55 minutes, the plane returned to Dhaka and landed safely at 3:45 pm.

Rawshan added that 94 passengers, including members of the Bangladesh National Football Team, are expected to return to Dhaka on the same flight.

Biman has also arranged hotel accommodations for passengers stranded in Kathmandu, he confirmed.