India's Omicron cases have risen to 21, with as many as 17 people testing positive for this new variant of Covid across the country in 24 hours, officials said Monday. This is a sharp spike of 19 cases of the Omicron variant in just four days, despite the country ramping up efforts to contain its spead. India Thursday reported its first two known Omicron variant cases, discovered in two men in Karnataka state. "In 24 hours till Sunday night, nine people in the northwestern Indian city of Jaipur, seven in the western city of Pune and a 37-year-old fully vaccinated man who arrived in the national capital from Tanzania tested positive for the new variant," an official said. Read:India reports first two Covid cases of Omicron variant Omicron has been classified as "a variant of concern" by the World Health Organisation. It was first discovered in South Africa. Meanwhile, on Monday, India logged a total of 8,306 new Covid cases in 24 hours, taking the total caseload to 3,46,41,561, according to the latest Health Ministry data. Last week, the Indian government backtracked on its decision to resume regular international flights from December 15, following an advice from Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The Indian government put curbs on all domestic and international flights in March last year in the wake of the Covid-induced lockdown. However, it allowed domestic flights from May 2020, and the entry of all foreigners except tourists from October that year.

In gradual relaxation of the  extended Covid-19 lockdown the government has decided to allow domestic flights to operate in all routes from Friday. The information was confirmed in the notification of the cabinet division regarding lockdown restrictions on Thursday afternoon. Read: Bangladesh, India planning limited flight operation Right after the notification, US-Bangla Airlines issued a press release on resumption of flights on all domestic routes in compliance with health regulations from Aug. 6. Among the routes operated from Dhaka, US-Bangla Airlines has decided to run flights to Chattogram, Cox's Bazar, Syedpur, Jashore, Sylhet, Barisal and Rajshahi, said the press release. They requested their customers to call  01777777800-6 or 13605 for  ticket reservations. Read:68 more return to Dhaka from Thailand by special flight Faced with the mounting Covid-19 cases and hospitalization, the government on Thursday decided to extend the ongoing lockdown for five more days until Aug. 10 in an effort to slow down the virus transmission. The Cabinet Division issued the notification on Thursday which will remain in force from 12 am on Aug. 5 till 12 am on Aug. 10. According to the notification, the industries and factories will remain out of the purview of the restriction while the domestic flight will be operated following health guidelines. Read: Domestic flights to carry intl passengers to port of departure during lockdown The nationwide lockdown, first imposed on July 23 for 14 days until Aug. 5, has now been extended for another five days till Aug. 10 amid a surge in the Delta variant of Covid-19 infections across the country. The government also asked all concerned to take measures in this regard.

Biman Bangladesh Airlines has suspended all domestic flights for seven days, from July 1 to 7, as the country enters "strict lockdown" early Thursday to tackle the rising tide of Covid-19 cases and fatalities. However, the national flag carrier will operate a limited number of flights – from Dhaka to Chattogram, Sylhet and Cox's Bazar – for providing transit to international passengers.  Also read: Govt outlines restriction rules ahead of ‘tough’ lockdown Passengers of the suspended flights can travel later with the same tickets, subject to vacancies, without paying extra charges, Biman Deputy General Manager (Public Relations) Tahera Khondoker said Wednesday. Bangladesh's Covid-19 situation is getting from bad to worse. It reported a record-high number of daily Covid-19 infections after confirming its first cases on March 8 last year in the past 24 hours till Wednesday morning. Also read: Violation of lockdown rules to invite legal action, warns DMP The country, battling to get a second coronavirus wave under control, also reported more than 100 deaths for a fourth straight day. The new 8,822 cases have pushed the country's caseload to 9,13,258, and 115 fatalities brought its toll to 14,503.

Flight operations on domestic routes, except for Cox's Bazar, will resume from Wednesday (April 21, 2021) on a 'limited scale' amid the ongoing lockdown to curb the spread of coronavirus. Air Vice Marshal M Mafidur Rahman, chairman of the Civil Aviation Authority Bangladesh (CAAB), informed UNB about the development and shared three specific reasons for the move. Also read: Bangladesh to operate special flights to carry overseas workers He said it was taken to facilitate the communication of expatriate workers across the country, mitigate the loss suffered by the aviation industry and to ease the travel of industry workers as factories are open. He added that flights must be operated on a limited range in compliance with health regulations. Also read: CAAB to suspend international flights from Apr 14 On April 3, CAAB decided to suspend flight operations on domestic routes during the lockdown period. All types of domestic flight operations remained suspended from April 5 since the enforcement of the lockdown. Read US-Bangla to operate international flights on four routes from Saturday 

The Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB) onSunday said they will suspend all international flights as the government is going to impose a strict lockdown from April 14 to contain the spread of Covid-19. "Decision on international flights has been taken during an inter-ministerial meeting in the evening," said CAAB Chairman of Air Vice Marshal M Mofidur Rahman. "We made the move following the government's lockdown directives," he said. However, there will be no restriction on the movement of chartered flights, cargo flights and special flights carrying high commissioners of different countries and foreign nationals. Also read: Covid-19: Bangladesh records highest single-day deaths The flight operations on domestic routes have remained suspended since the enforcement of the seven-day lockdown in the country from April 5. Also, on April 1, the civil aviation regulator suspended the entry of passengers from all European countries, except the UK, and 12 other countries to Bangladesh from April 3. As the spread of Covid-19 has sparked alarm across the country, the government is set to issue a notification on Sunday over enforcing a fresh nationwide lockdown from April 14 in its desperate bid to stop the spread of the deadly virus. Also read: Worsening Covid crisis: Bangladesh resorting to full lockdown Bangladesh, a densely populated country, is facing the wraths of the Covid-19 pandemic as people continue to defy health protocols despite warnings both from the government and experts. On Saturday, the country registered 77 more deaths in 24 hours until Saturday morning, shattering all of its previous records. The number of Covid-19 cases dropped slightly to 5,343, said the Directorate General of Health Services.

NOVOAIR will resume flights to Cox’s Bazar from Thursday, the airline said Wednesday. 

All government, semi-government , autonomous  and private offices resumed on Sunday ending a 66-day general holiday amid spike in coronavirus cases and deaths across the country.

US-Bangla Airlines, one of the largest private airlines in Bangladesh, will resume domestic operations from June 1 after the government lifted restrictions on domestic flights.

Limited domestic flights will resume on Dhaka, Chattogram, Sylhet and Syedpur routes from June 1, the Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB) announced Thursday.