Fog halts flight operations, ferry services

Thick fog disrupted flight operations at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport and ferry services on Paturia-Daulatdia and Shimulai-Khathalbari routes on Monday, causing sufferings to thousands of passengers.

Rezaul Karim, public relations officer at Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB), said the flight operations at the airport were suspended at 5:50am due to poor runway visibility caused by dense fog.

He said the flight operations at the airport resumed at 10:20am after the disappearance of fog.

Several domestic flights, including that of Biman Bangladesh Airlines, could not take off and one flight from Singapore was diverted to Chittagong airport during the period, Karim said adding that a Chittagong-bound flight of Biman ‘BG011’ left the airport around 10:20am.

Besides, the ferry services were disrupted for seven hours from 3:30am due to poor visibility caused by thick fog on Paturia-Daulatdia route,” said Mohiuddin Russell, manager (Commercial) of Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Corporation (BIWTC) at Aricha.

Four ferries got stranded in the middle of the river, said the official, adding that around 500 vehicles, including buses and trucks, were waiting in queues on both sides of the river to cross it. 

The ferry services resumed around 10:30am after the fog disappeared, he said.

Our Munshiganj correspondent adds: Ferry services on Shimulia-Kathalbari river route resumed on Monday morning after eight hours of disruption caused by dense fog.
 
Shah Newaz Khaled, assistant general manager of Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Corporation (BIWTC) at Shimulia station, said the authorities kept the ferry services suspended on the route from 2am to 10am due to blurred visibility caused by thick fog.

Six ferries remained stranded in the mid-river, causing immense sufferings to the passengers amid cold weather.

Source: unb