Male’, Maldives – 200 more Bangladeshi expats living in Maldives have been sent back to Bangladesh yesterday.
They were sent back on a flight by Maldivian Airline yesterday to Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport (HSIA) in Dhaka, Bangladesh.
More than 8,000 Bangladeshi expats working illegally in the Maldives have been sent back after the Maldivian government, due to COVID-19, began scheduling flights for expats wanting to go back to their home countries and for illegal immigrants.
The government aims to send 20,000 illegal immigrants by the end of this year, and currently have deported 13,000.
Bangladeshi workers in Male’ are reportedly are at the highest risk of a COVID-19 infection, largely due their living conditions, where multiple workers share small rooms.
While Maldives has been cracking down on illegal immigrants and sending them back home, most of whom are Bangladeshi, Maldivian Airlines was recently fined by Bangladeshi authorities after most of the 200 Bangladeshi passengers abroad a Maldivian flight to HSIA did not carry a negative Covid-19 result certificate.
HSIA’s Executive Magistrate Ahmed Zamil revealed to Bangladeshi media that Maldivian Airlines has been fined Tk 236,000 (around USD 2800) by the airport.
