Sohail F Rahman, wife fly to London by chartered plane amid pandemic

Sohail F Rahman, the chairman of one of Bangladesh’s leading conglomerates Beximco Group, has left Dhaka for London on a chartered plane as normal flight operations are suspended due to the coronavirus crisis.

The special flight carrying Sohail and his wife left from Dhaka on Friday, said Mofidur Rahman, the chairman of the Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh or CAAB.

Sohail’s younger brother Salman F Rahman is the founder and vice-chairman of Beximco.

Former foreign minister M Morshed Khan and his wife, whose daughter is married to Salman’s son Ahmed Shayan Fazlur Rahman, went to London by another chartered plane on Thursday.

Morshed, who stepped down from the BNP as a vice-chairman last year, is “seriously” ill and will undergo medical check-up in the UK, one of his aides said.

“The flights were connected. They had chartered two planes. They [Morshed and wife] took one and Salman F Rahman’s elder brother took the other,” CAAB Chairman Mofidur said.

Salman is Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s adviser on private industry and investment.

A family source said Sohail and his wife are going to London to be with their pregnant daughter during the virus crisis.

The source also said the travels of Morshed and Sohail were not connected.