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Amid criticism of the government for allowing a direct cargo flight from Israel to land in Dhaka, authorities at the Shahjalal International Airport say no rules set in support of Palestine have been broken.
The aircraft does not belong to Israel, and it did not bring any cargo or passengers from that country, according to Group Captain Muhammed Kamrul Islam, the airport’s executive director.
The plane, owned by an American company called National Airlines and registered in the US, came to Bangladesh to pick up readymade garments for exporting to Sharjah and Europe, he told bdnews24.com on Saturday. “Such flights are authorised.”
Bangladesh does not have any Air Service Agreement with Israel. The agreement is necessary for countries to operate flights between them.
US airlines can operate flights to and from Bangladesh under an ASA.
“National Airlines flights have come to Bangladesh in the past. One came on Thursday to take commercial products to the Middle East and Europe after unloading cargo in Israel. There’s nothing illegal about it,” said Kamrul.
Bangladesh is a staunch supporter of Palestinian independence. Because of Israeli aggression in Palestine, the South Asian country does not have diplomatic relations with Israel.
Amid boiling anger over the deaths of more than 33,000 people, including women and children, in Israel’s ongoing war on Palestinian group Hamas, the flight from Tel Aviv raised eyebrows.
Many accused the government of having “secret ties” with Israel following the incident.
According to Flightradar, a website that tracks flights, the National Airlines aircraft landed at the Dhaka airport around 8pm on Thursday, about six hours after it had left Tel Aviv.
The Boeing 747-400 aircraft can carry up to 108 tonnes of cargo. Its owner, National Airlines, operates on-demand cargo and chartered flights.