Four Biman cabin crew members suspended over ‘misconduct’

They allegedly made disrespectful remarks to passengers for asking for water

Days after passengers suffered on a Biman Bangladesh Airlines flight in Kolkata, authorities have suspended four cabin crew members over complaints of misconduct with passengers on the Dhaka-Kolkata route.

The incident happened at Kolkata’s Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport on Thursday and the cabin crew members were grounded on Saturday, said Biman spokesperson Tahera Khandaker

She said Biman authorities took action based on a complaint from a passenger on the jet that took off from Dhaka airport at 9:05pm on Thursday.

A committee will be formed to look into it and take further action based on the report. The four will not be allowed on flights until then, she added.

Biman officials said the jet was stationed at Kolkata airport with the air conditioner turned off when the passengers repeatedly asked for water. Irked by this, members of the cabin crew hurled a “disrespectful” remark at the passengers.

After the jet reached Dhaka, Biman officials tried to resolve the matter by speaking to the passengers and cabin crew. However, the staffers continued to “run their mouth” in front of the officials as well. This led to the authorities barring the cabin crew members from their duties.

On Monday, another Biman jet experienced technical difficulties and was stranded at Kolkata airport for almost four hours. With the air conditioning turned off, the passengers were stuck in the sweltering heat.

A passenger fell sick and another described the experience as ‘horrendous’.