A special Boeing 777-200ER aircraft carrying an undisclosed number of Bangladeshi nationals deported from the United States is scheduled to land at Hazrat Shah Jalal International Airport in Dhaka at 9 p.m. on Saturday, according to official documents and messages from the Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB).

CAAB permit No. HQ2389, issued on August 30, granted clearance to the United States for this diplomatic flight, directing it to follow approved air traffic service (ATS) routes.

The Boeing 777-200ER, a long-range wide-bodied aircraft, has a seating capacity of 314 to 440 passengers, though the exact number of deportees on board has not been disclosed.

Purpose of the flight

The CAAB communication cites the “repatriation of deported Bangladesh citizens ordered removed from the United States” as the purpose of the flight.
This is believed to be the first chartered deportation flight directly repatriating Bangladeshis living illegally in the US, under Washington’s wider crackdown on undocumented immigrants.

The deportation follows policy measures announced during the Trump administration, which intensified efforts to remove foreign nationals residing illegally in the US.

While hundreds of Indian nationals and other groups have already been deported, US officials have not publicly stated how many Bangladeshis are currently undocumented or the total number to be deported.

Diplomatic concerns raised by Dhaka

A senior official of Bangladesh’s interim government confirmed that the Foreign Ministry was notified in advance of the US decision.

Earlier, Dhaka had expressed concerns about the treatment of deportees, particularly regarding the use of handcuffs during flights. Bangladesh formally requested Washington to avoid restraining deportees during transportation.
To address the issue, an inter-ministerial meeting in March 2025 brought together officials from the Foreign Ministry, Home Ministry and security agencies. The discussions emphasized verification of deportees’ Bangladeshi citizenship before repatriation, ensuring due process was followed and guaranteeing humane treatment of deported individuals.

Bangladeshi community in the US

Officials in Dhaka estimate that the largest concentration of Bangladeshi nationals in the US resides on the east coast, particularly in the states of New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut.

The arrival of Saturday’s flight is being closely watched, both as a matter of national interest and as a potential diplomatic test case in the handling of future deportations.

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