Biman ticket cannot be booked without passenger info: minister

Civil Aviation and Tourism Minister Muhammad Faruk Khan today said no ticket of Biman Bangladesh Airlines can be booked without passengers' information.

"So, there is no scope for anyone to book multiple tickets at once without passengers' information," he said while responding to a query by Jatiya Party lawmaker Md Mujibul Haque which was tabled at the Jatiya Sangsad.

Faruk Khan said passengers can purchase tickets from Biman's website, GDS, mobile app, call centre and Biman's own sales centre as well as any authorised domestic and foreign travel agents.

Besides, the minister said every ticket has a booking period and if it is not purchased within the period, the ticket will be automatically get cancelled.

Any airline business has peak season and off-peak season, said Faruk Khan, adding that when the pressure on passengers stays low, some seats may remain vacant, but it is not the scenario for the entire year.

There is a random allegation against Biman authorities that when one goes to buy a ticket even though the seats remain vacant, he or she is told that there is no ticket.

Seats are often left vacant due to passengers not arriving at the airport on time despite having confirmed tickets, many passengers having fake visas as well as documents and legal complications from immigration authorities, he said.

Besides, because of load penalty on some routes, some seats are kept unsold for which the seats remain vacant, he said.

The allegation that Biman's ticket is not available even if seats remain vacant, and most of the time Biman flies with vacant seats is not true.