The United States Embassy in Dhaka is open and continues to provide emergency services to American citizens and emergency visa services on a case-by-case basis. The Embassy remains committed to working with the Government of Bangladesh and with other Bangladeshi friends and partners to respond to COVID-19.
DHAKA, April 13, 2020: Today, Monday, April 13, the United States Embassy in Dhaka helped several hundred American citizens and family members return to the United States as part of our response to the global challenge of the COVID-19 pandemic. This was the third repatriation flight after flights on March 30 and April 5. All confirmed U.S. citizen passengers who came to the airport today, as with the first two flights on March 30 and April 5, were able to board.
U.S. Ambassador Earl Miller and Bangladesh Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen were at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport to support today’s flight and speak with departing passengers. The Government of Bangladesh, including the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh, local law enforcement and airport officials, and dozens of Embassy personnel worked together to facilitate this third Qatar Airways charter flight. As with the previous two flights, today’s charter flight highlights the enduring cooperation, people-to-people ties, and friendship between the United States and Bangladesh.
The U.S. Embassy remains open and committed to working with the Government of Bangladesh and our Bangladeshi friends and partners to respond to the COVID-19 crisis. The United States is providing assistance to Bangladesh to improve rapid diagnosis and support heroic frontline health workers risking their lives to protect everyone in Bangladesh. For more information about the U.S. government’s support for Bangladesh’s efforts to contain the spread of COVID -19 and long-standing commitment to the Bangladeshi health sector, watch this special video message from Ambassador Miller: https://youtu.be/TdXTEwR1DnM.
On March 19, as a result of the global spread and impact of COVID-19, the U.S. Department of State issued a worldwide Travel Advisory urging U.S. citizens to avoid international travel, and for those living overseas, to return to the United States or prepare to remain overseas for an indefinite period. While many Americans are staying in Bangladesh, some have decided to return home. The Embassy is committed to helping them do so. At this time, there are no additional Embassy-chartered flights authorized. However, we continue to accept information from U.S. citizens and Lawful Permanent Residents who wish to return to the United States. All U.S. citizens should register with the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP) as soon as possible at https://step.state.gov/ to receive the latest updates.
As of April 12, the Department of State has coordinated the repatriation of over 59,400 Americans from 107 countries. For more information about the March 19 Travel Advisory and the U.S. government’s worldwide efforts to repatriate its citizens, please visit: https://go.usa.gov/xvCXk (English); https://go.usa.gov/xvCXq (Bengali) and https://www.state.gov/coronavirus/repatriation/.
