Biman blames Kolkata airport for passengers’ suffering

Biman Bangladesh Airlines has blamed Kolkata airport authorities for the suffering of its passengers on a Dhaka-bound flight on Monday night.

Some 150 passengers of flight BG396 remained stranded inside the Boeing 737 aircraft for more than four hours without air conditioning and food due to a technical glitch, said Biman Managing Director and CEO Zahid Hossain.

The authorities of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport in Kolkata did not allow the passengers to deplane for four hours while it was being repaired, he added.

After fixing the glitch, the flight landed at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka at 1:42am yesterday, he told The Daily Star.

Talking to this correspondent, passengers said they were kept inside the aircraft without air conditioning or food.

Some of the passengers, who went to India on medical visas, fell sick inside the plane, they added.

Asked, Biman MD said the pilot of the aircraft had to abort a take-off because of a faulty sensor on the plane.

"They [Kolkata airport authorities] didn't give necessary permission to bring the passengers inside the terminal from the aircraft," he said.

The Biman boss said food could not be served as the plane was undergoing repairs.

He also said the air conditioning system also failed due to an issue with the wiring system that was fixed later.

The Daily Star couldn't contact any official concerned of Kolkata airport to get their comments.

Showket Hossain, a former governor of Rotary International Club, said the flight was supposed to depart from Kolkata for Dhaka at 8:35pm local time. However, just before the departure, the flight cancelled its take-off.

After around an hour, the flight again prepared for departure.

However, the take-off was aborted after reaching the runway.

The Boeing 737 was later taken to the apron.