British High Commissioner to Bangladesh Robert Chatterton Dickson and Bangladesh Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen were present at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport to observe the return process and speak with departing British travellers.

Earlier on 18 April, the British High Commission announced four charter flights from Bangladesh to bring home 850 British nationals to the United Kingdom.

For these return flights, priority is initially being given to vulnerable passengers, most at risk from the effects of coronavirus, including the elderly and those with underlying health conditions.

The flights are intended for British Nationals who are on holiday or are short-term visitors to Bangladesh.

The UK Government committed up to £75 million to help thousands of British people return home, according to British High Commission in Dhaka.

British High Commissioner to Bangladesh Robert Chatterton Dickson said, “I am very pleased that we have today enabled 264 British visitors to Bangladesh, many of them vulnerable and with underlying health conditions, to return home to the UK on our first special charter flight, operated by British Airways."

Working with Bangladesh Biman Airlines, he said, they were able to provide a connecting flight from Sylhet, where many of their nationals were staying.

"Our next flights will run from Dhaka on April 23, 25 and 26 April, again with a connection from Sylhet," said the High Commissioner.

He thanked the government of Bangladesh, the Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh, the management of Hazrat Shahjalal and Osmani International Airports and Biman Bangladesh Airlines for their exemplary support in ensuring the safe return of British visitors.

“The British High Commission in Dhaka remains fully operational and we will continue to provide full consular support to British nationals in Bangladesh," he said.

The charter flights are for UK travellers who normally reside in the UK and their direct dependants.