Biman to run a special flight to Malaysia’s Kuala Lumpur route on Friday

The flight is attempting to help out expatriate workers who are being price gouged by an alleged syndicate

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Biman Bangladesh Airlines is set to operate a special flight from Dhaka to Malaysia’s Kuala Lumpur following a letter from the Ministry of Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment.

The special flight by the flag carrier will take off from Dhaka’s Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport at 7:15pm on Friday, according to a statement issued by the airline.

The flight will carry a total of 271 passengers to Malaysia, the statement read.

Under the supervision of the Ministry of Expatriates' Welfare & Overseas Employment, a Bangladesh Association of International Recruiting Agencies (BAIRA) representative will submit a list containing the passengers’ names, passport numbers and required commitments at Biman’s District Sales Office in Dhaka’s Motijheel.

According to the list, the BAIRA representative will be able to purchase the flight tickets from Biman’s District Sale Office in the capital using cash. Biman set the ticket price of the special flight at Tk 73,616 per person considering the benefits to the passengers and BAIRA and the ministry have been informed, the statement read.

The deadline for new Bangladeshi expatriates to travel to Malaysia is Friday (May 31). It is reported that a syndicate is trying to take advantage of the deadline by selling tickets to Malaysia at several times higher prices. From Tk 30,000, the price has jumped to over Tk 100,000, causing suffering to hundreds of thousands of passengers set for Malaysia.

Civil Aviation and Tourism Minister Muhammad Faruk Khan spoke about the issue after inspecting the progress of Dhaka airport’s third terminal on Thursday.

He said, “The price of air tickets is a matter of the supplier and Biman. Those involved in the matter knew the deadline one month ago. However, recruiting agencies or other suppliers have not taken any step in this regard.”

“Biman now operates three to four flights every day. On Wednesday, some Malaysia-bound passengers sought permission for an Air Cambodia aircraft to operate a chartered flight and we approved it as we think it is efficient. If Biman had known this earlier, it could have taken steps. Currently, Biman’s Hajj flights are underway, but we are trying to give them an opportunity.”