Airlines to home-deliver delayed baggage to Dhaka airport passengers

The days of hassle over delayed luggage will soon end for passengers landing at the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka.

The authorities have made it mandatory for airlines to deliver any delayed baggage to the homes of their passengers.

The home delivery service will start in October, Group Captain Abdullah Al Farooq, a director at the airport, told bdnews24.com on Sunday.

Airlines will be fined between Tk 50,000 and Tk 200,000 in line with the Consumers' Right Protection Act if they do not follow the rule, he added.

A passenger will have to file a complaint with the related airlines and give it their address first if their luggage is left behind. The passenger will also have to pay for dutiable goods.

Every day 130 to 150 flights, carrying thousands of foreign and Bangladeshi passengers, land at the airport.

Previously arriving passengers had to collect any delayed luggage when it arrived at a later time. The process is difficult for those who live outside the capital.

The airport authorities had earlier previously SalamAir, Qatar Airways, Air Arabia, Malindo, Malaysian Airlines and several others for harassment of passengers in cases of delayed luggage.

The latest fine was issued on Sept 12 when SalamAir delayed 108 pieces of luggage belonging to 61 passengers. The airline was fined a little over Tk 1.2 million on that day.

Executive Magistrate Muhammad Yusuf had said at the airport that he has been trying to resolve the delayed luggage problem for two years. A mobile court could not solve the issue permanently, he said.

Biman Bangladesh Airlines spokesman Shakil Meraz said airlines usually leave luggage behind when the weight of an aircraft exceeds the limit.

Luggage can also be left behind due to security checking or mistakes by ground handling crew at the airport of departure.