DHAKA, March 28, 2019 (BSS) – The country’s travel agents today urged all carriers operating from here especially Biman Bangladesh Airlines to increase flights to Middle Eastern destinations as numbers of foreign carriers stopped their operations from Dhaka.
“We request all airlines including Biman Bangladesh Airlines and Saudi Arbian Airlines to operate additional flights to Middle East as we are facing huge seat crisis on different Middle Eastern routes,” Manzur Murshed, president of Association of Travel Agents of Bangladesh (ATAB) told newsmen at a press conference at his head office in the city.
ATAB is a platform of the country’s around 3,500 travel agents involved in travel related activities including ticketing, visa processing, hajj and Umrah operations.
Manzur said seat crisis took the worst shape since February in different airlines operating to different Middle Eastern destinations including Jeddah, Riyadh, Dammam, Madina, Dubai, Doha, Bahrain, Muscat, Kuwait and Sharjah routes.
He said the seat crisis started when Etihad Airways, Fly Dubai and Oman Airways stopped their operations here in recent months. “The situation got worsened as Jet Airways cancelled many flights from Dhaka recently,” he said.
He said different Middle East-bound airlines increased airfare two to three times taking the opportunity of seat crisis.
“Due to seat crisis, air fare in different destinations in Middle Eastern countries has been increased to Taka around 60,000 from Tk 20,000 in recent time causing worst effects to the workers,” he said.
In recent years, he said the numbers of Umrah pilgrims has been increased significantly but seat capacity of the airlines didn’t go up accordingly.
The ATAB leaders said they have already sent letters to the Civil Aviation Authority, Bangladesh (CAAB) urging to take necessary steps to resolve the crisis.
The association suggested the national flag carrier to increase its flights frequency to Middle Eastern countries by discontinuing its operations to lose-making routes.
ATAB Vice President Aslam Khan and Secretary General Abdus Salam Aref also spoke, among others.