A newspaper in Bangladesh has revealed new details about former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's dramatic escape from Dhaka on August 5, 2024. The report confirms what sources at Kolkata’s Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose airport had earlier said, that her military aircraft was first expected to land in Kolkata but later changed its route. Instead, the plane landed at the Hindon Air Force base in Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh. Experts believe this last-minute change was planned to avoid drawing too much attention.

At first, Indian media, including NDTV, reported that Sheikh Hasina was flying to Kolkata. The aircraft appeared to be heading there until the last moment. However, it suddenly took a turn towards Delhi, likely because the route to Delhi kept the plane longer in Bangladesh airspace. The team wanted to minimize the time spent in the country’s skies to avoid detection.

Aviation experts say that flights from Dhaka to Delhi travel northwest and stay longer in Bangladeshi airspace. In contrast, flights to Kolkata take a direct westward path and are quicker. According to civil aviation sources quoted by the Bangladeshi newspaper The Daily Star, there is a hotline between air traffic control in Dhaka and Kolkata to inform each other about incoming aircraft.

The plane carrying former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was called a “training flight” to avoid attention as she fled the country. A violent crowd was trying to take over her home in Dhaka.The plane took off from Bangladesh’s Air Force base after 3 pm and planned to go to Kolkata. It had a special code shared with Kolkata air traffic control, but soon after takeoff, the plane turned off its transponders, making it invisible to radar. The plane stayed in contact with ground control to fly safely.

Sheikh Hasina and others were on board. The transponders were switched back on near the Bengal border, and then the plane was tracked by Kolkata Air Traffic Control.India allowed her to fly in because of the dangerous situation in Bangladesh, where protesters were attacking police and her party members. A few hours later, Sheikh Hasina arrived safely in Ghaziabad, India. Her arrival was confirmed by India’s National Security Advisor Ajit Doval.