Published : 08 Aug 2026, 08:53 PM
Updated : 08 Sep 2026, 09:31 AM
Passengers of a Biman Bangladesh Airlines flight from Toronto to Dhaka have been left stranded in Rome after a technical fault forced the aircraft to make an emergency landing there.
The airline said on Saturday that an engineering team and spare parts were being sent from Dhaka to repair the aircraft, while passengers complained of hardship during the wait.
The passengers were travelling on flight BG-306, which was forced to remain at Rome's Fiumicino Airport after developing a technical glitch.
Passengers alleged that Biman had arranged hotel accommodation only for those holding Canadian and US passports, while the rest were kept at a lounge called Prima Vista.
Some passengers also said they felt unwell.
Mohammad Abu Sayed, a senior lecturer in computer science at Independent University, Bangladesh, who was among those waiting at the lounge, said the flight had left Toronto on Friday and stopped in Rome around 7:30am the following day.
Passengers were kept inside the aircraft for about eight hours over technical problems, he said. There were many elderly people, children and sick passengers on board, several of whom fell ill.
After the airline contacted Bangladesh, passengers were allowed to leave the aircraft and enter the airport.
But around 170 passengers holding Bangladeshi passports were unable to leave the airport for hotels, Sayed said.
Around 11pm, an airline official made arrangements for them to stay at the lounge, where passengers spent the night on the floor or in chairs, he said.
Md Rokon Ur Rahman, a resident of Mohammadpur, said elderly passengers suffering from diabetes and high blood pressure were in particular difficulty.
He also complained that breakfast, which was supposed to be served two hours earlier, had not arrived.
In a statement on Saturday afternoon, Biman said the aircraft assigned to flights BG-306 and BG-307 from Rome was currently grounded.
The airline said engineers and the spare parts were being sent (BG-305), which left the capital at 1:53pm on Saturday.
It was due to arrive in Rome at 6:50am local time on Sunday.
If the technical fault is fixed as planned, the grounded aircraft is likely to leave for Dhaka at 10pm local time on Saturday and reach Shahjalal International Airport around 10:30am on Sunday.
Biman said passengers would be kept updated with the latest information about the flight.
According to flight-tracking platform FlightAware.com, the BG-306 flight was being operated by a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner.
The aircraft, carrying more than 250 passengers, left Toronto Pearson International Airport at 5:18pm local time on Thursday.
After flying for about eight hours, it made an emergency landing at the Rome airport on Friday.
