Home
+
Published : 17 May 2015, 01:29 AM
The move has triggered security concerns.
Experts and passengers say the practice could help criminals bypass immigration checks.
Flight BG-85 en route to Dhaka from Singapore’s Changi Airport made an unscheduled stoppage at Chittagong’s Shah Amanat International Airport on Friday night.
It took off about an hour later after taking domestic passengers travelling to Dhaka from Chittagong.
A passenger, who was in the flight, told bdnews24.com that they had been told the plane had made an emergency landing due to bad weather.
“But we saw several unknown faces onboard before departure. They told us that they were domestic passengers,” he said.
He said he was a frequent flyer but had not seen such practice before.
“How can they carry both international and domestic passengers in the same flight?” the passenger wondered.
His claim could not be verified independently and Biman did not respond to request for comments.
Its General Manager (public relations) Khan Mosharraf Hossain said he was not aware of such incident.
The loss-making airliner suspended operations on domestic routes due to lack of aircraft. It resumed local flights using specific aircraft last month after a four-year gap.
Biman used Sylhet and Chittagong as connecting routes for international flights.
Former Biman director and aviation expert Kazi Wahedul Alam said Friday’s incident had put a question mark over the aviation security.
“No airlines in the world carry international and domestic passengers in the same flight,” he said, even though there was no specific rule on the matter.
Alam added there were some technical issues in carrying domestic passengers in an international flight and vice-versa.
“A smuggler can travel from Singapore and say that he came from Chittagong to avoid immigration checks,” he explained.
“Anyone can manipulate this system, putting the whole airport’s security into jeopardy.”
