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Published : 19 Jul 2026, 01:25 AM
Delayed flights, passengers kept waiting after boarding, broken seats, faulty air conditioning, misbehaving staff, lost or damaged baggage -- complaints like these surface periodically on social media, yet passengers say they never lead to any resolution.
Aviation insiders say the biggest reason airlines pay these complaints no heed is simple: flights are scarce, passengers plentiful.
That imbalance lets "budget carriers" charge fares nearly matching legacy carriers while skipping even minimum service and still stay in business.
Most passengers, they add, are also unaware of their own rights, and rarely file complaints through the proper channels, leaving the Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB), which runs the country's airports, room to dodge accountability.
According to Shahjalal International Airport authority's list, 41 airlines fly out of the airport to different destinations, only four of them Bangladeshi.
The CAAB decides whether these airlines are allowed to fly from the country, putting oversight squarely in its hands.
So Many Complaints
On Jul 11, tourism entrepreneur Sonia Refat described widespread suffering aboard a FitsAir flight from Dhaka to Colombo on social media.
She runs a travel page called "Go Girls”, and recounted, while travelling with tourists, sitting aboard the Fitsair aircraft for nearly five and a half hours.
In a video posted after reaching Colombo, Sonia said their flight was scheduled for 2:15am.
Passengers were boarded on time, but the flight did not leave until 7:50am, leaving them seated inside the aircraft at the airport for nearly five and a half hours.
She also accused the airline of failing to provide proper information and of mistreating passengers.
Frustrated by the ordeal, the group set up a Facebook page called "Sufferer of FitsAir”, where several other passengers have since written about their own experiences with the airline at various times.
Though the incident has been widely discussed on social media and in the press over the past few days, FitsAir has issued no official response.
Calls to its official phone numbers and emails also went unanswered.
Dhaka airport Executive Director SM Ragib Samad, however, confirmed the Fitsair flight was indeed delayed that day.
He said a signal had indicated the aircraft's hydraulic fluid was below the required level before departure, and repairs to make it flight-worthy caused the delay.
Asked about other passenger complaints against FitsAir, Samad said the authorities would look into the matter.
Amid the Fitsair controversy, another passenger flying US-Bangla Airlines to Chennai has raised complaints of poor service and “unprofessionalism”.
Samia Shatabdi wrote in a Facebook post that her US-Bangla flight to Chennai, scheduled for 10:45am on Jul 12, did not depart until 6:15pm.
She alleged the aircraft's air conditioning failed mid-flight, leaving passengers drenched in sweat, with many falling ill.
Several passengers, already unwell before boarding and travelling to Chennai for treatment, grew sicker still because the AC wasn't working, she said.
US-Bangla authorities said the flight was delayed due to weather and some mechanical issues, and that the air conditioning had been running throughout, though passengers said it "was not cooling properly”.
Airline spokesperson Kamrul Islam told bdnews24.com that passenger complaints are examined "very seriously”, but that in most cases, a complaint raised on social media is never formally filed through the airline's proper channels, and the Chennai case was no different.
He said the airline's own pilots and other crew were travelling on the same aircraft; the AC may not have been functioning at full capacity, but it was incorrect to say it was not working at all.
The flight, he said, had been significantly delayed that day due to weather and mechanical issues, with passengers boarded as soon as the aircraft became flight-worthy.
"Passengers can lose patience in such situations. The cabin may not have cooled fully before boarding, creating the impression that the air conditioning was not working.”
“No other passenger on that flight lodged such a complaint, and even the passenger who posted on social media did not report it through the proper channel,” he added. “We believe complaints are more effectively handled when submitted directly to the airline."
Kamrul said there was no question of operating a flight with a faulty aircraft, adding that technical issues can arise but are fixed “immediately”.
Are Passengers Even Aware?
Tanzim Anwar, president of the Aviation and Tourism Journalists Forum of Bangladesh (ATJFB), said most passengers are unaware of their right to compensation.
"Airlines in Europe or America pay passengers compensation counted by the day when their luggage fails to arrive with them. Many airlines here have no practice at all of compensating passengers when baggage is 'left behind'.”
According to him, some West Asia-based budget carriers let passengers carry excess baggage, meaning they cannot fit every passenger's luggage on board.
Baggage is regularly left behind on these carriers, he said, and is not always delivered afterwards to passengers' addresses either, forcing passengers to make the trip themselves to collect it.
Having covered Bangladesh's aviation sector for more than 15 years, Tanzim said passengers who receive poor in-flight service should first file a complaint with the airline by email after reaching their destination.
"If the airline fails to respond properly, passengers can report the matter to the aviation authority in their own country or even go to court. Travellers in Europe and the US do this regularly, forcing airlines to pay compensation."
Kazi Wahidul Alam, an aviation expert and former board member of Biman Bangladesh Airlines, said every airline maintains a "passenger service protocol”, and civil aviation rules also set out how long a flight can be delayed after boarding.
But complications around disembarking passengers mean airlines, once passengers are boarded, are reluctant to deplane them even during long delays, he said.
"But the complaint against FitsAir is very valid. Passengers say they were made to sit inside the plane for five and a half hours. This kind of complaint has come up before too.
“Now there's talk of crew misbehaviour as well. This is definitely passenger harassment. If the aggrieved passengers file a complaint with civil aviation, the authority can review it and take action against the airline.”
Alam contrasted the incident with China Southern Airlines, which delayed a Dhaka flight by more than three hours on Jul 9 because of technical problems after passengers had boarded.
"The airline accommodated passengers at Dhaka Regency Hotel. After they reached Guangzhou, each passenger received 400 yuan in compensation."
He said FitsAir markets itself as a budget carrier but often charges fares close to those of legacy airlines.
"If it charges premium fares while failing to provide even basic service, regulators should certainly look into the matter."
‘Trust Deficit’
Tanzim believes many passengers also "lack confidence" in the authorities.
"Across Bangladesh, people often feel they won't get a proper solution from regulators. There is a lack of awareness among passengers too."
He said travellers in other countries routinely demand compensation from airlines and take legal action if necessary.
He also argued that some airlines treat Bangladesh-bound passengers “differently”.
"If you fly from the US on a West Asia-based airline, the aircraft to its hub is usually excellent. But once you board the connecting flight to Dhaka, the experience changes completely. Cabin crews on Dhaka routes are often much harsher."
He said many Bangladeshi passengers are migrant workers focused mainly on clearing immigration rather than assessing in-flight service.
"But growing numbers of middle-class travellers flying abroad for holidays or medical treatment are now raising these issues."
Where to Complain
Most passengers are unaware of where to lodge complaints against airlines.
Shahjalal Airport’s Ragib said travellers can submit written complaints at designated airport counters or use the “Contact Us” section on the airport's website.
Passengers may also send complaints directly to airlines through the email addresses listed on the airport's website.
Asked about passengers' lack of trust in the authorities, a senior CAAB official said complaints do not reach them in the same form they appear on social media.
He said he occasionally sees emails addressed directly to the chairman, which staff then print out, underline the complaint, and forward to the relevant department, adding that passengers who complain over lost baggage do regularly receive compensation.
