The good news is that Bangladesh Biman has managed to send all the intending Bangladeshi pilgrims to Saudi Arabia in time for hajj but some 300 passengers outbound on other flights had to suffer because the national carrier cancelled flights to three other destinations to accommodate the pilgrims. This should not have happened because the number of hajj passengers was known well in advance to Biman, so was the fact that in the initial stage many hajj flights had to be cancelled for lack of passengers due to various reasons. So the airline authorities could have made more judicious alternatives by advance planning and letting the passengers on other Biman flights know of the changes in advance.

We find unacceptable the indifference of Biman that it should feel no responsibility whatsoever to inform passengers of changes in flight schedules in advance. People are not travelling free on Biman and passengers are on a schedule themselves, there are women and children and often, the elderly, travelling to destinations for some purpose. The attitude of the national air carrier is that it is doing its passengers a favour, which seems sadly out of place especially where we find foreign airlines competing tooth-and-nail with one another for a share of the market. 

The success of sending pilgrims to hajj on time is sadly marred by actions like this and all we can hope for is that Biman' s management would try to do a better job next year because, at the end of the day, all its passengers are customers who have paid good money to avail its services.