First flight of Saudi Arabian Airlines with 252 expatriates, stranded in Bangladesh due to COVID-19, left Dhaka early Wednesday.
The flight, which left Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport at 12:56am, reached King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh 3:20am.
After reaching the airport, Saudi Arabia welcomed Bangladeshi passengers with flowers.
Most of the passengers of the flight became stranded after coming to the country following coronavirus pandemic.
Around six months of closure, this was the first commercial flight of Saudi Arabia.
Earlier, the Saudi government extended the tenure of Iqama thrice. The latest extension of expatriate visas and Iqama will expire on September 30.
The Bangladesh Embassy sent a letter to the Saudi Foreign Ministry on Tuesday, requesting to extend the validity of Iqama and visas for three more months so that the stranded Bangladeshi expatriate can return to Saudi Arabia safely.
An inter-ministerial meeting was held the same day with Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen in the chair.
Following the meeting, a formal letter was sent to the Saudi government.
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