‘Don’t unnecessarily question passengers during immigration’

State Minister for Civil Aviation M Mahbub Ali today directed immigration police not to unnecessarily question passengers during immigration at Dhaka airport.

He also instructed the immigration authorities not to interrogate all passengers.

The state minister said around 21,000 passengers travel through Dhaka airport every day. Only those who need to be questioned should be interrogated, he said.

Mahbub Ali said this while talking to reporters after visiting Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka today. He also spoke to passengers about the quality of service offered at Dhaka airport and problems they faced at the time.

He said strict action will be taken against airport officials or employees for negligence in duty and in case of harassing passengers.

The state minister for civil aviation said, "I have talked to the immigration authorities. Every passenger should not be interrogated. No one should be harassed. Interrogate only those you deem necessary to question. If needed, they can be interrogated separately."

Mahbub Ali said he has talked to customs officials at Dhaka airport to ensure that all passengers' luggage is not checked. Only those who are suspected on the basis of information will be checked and 1 to 2 percent of the passengers will have to be checked separately.

He said preparations are on to launch e-gate at Dhaka airport soon.

Regarding the ground handling service at the airport, the state minister said civil aviation ministry has formed a team who are supposed to visit Dhaka airport three days a week to oversee the ground handling management.

"We talked to passengers here. They say the quality of service is good. They did not have any problems with immigration," he noted.

Asked whether he was satisfied with the current situation at Dhaka airport, Mahbub Ali said, "I will not say that we are able to manage everything completely. We do have some limitations. Due to various difficulties, we are not able to provide proper service. We are working on this. We can't say that some mismanagement is not happening."