The Crime Desk: The Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism has ordered the arrangement of special fares on flights for workers and employees going abroad on work visas. In addition, agencies and airlines have been instructed to publish the actual price of ticket sales on the website and inform the public.
The order was given in a circular signed by Rumana Yasmin, Senior Assistant Secretary of the Ministry’s CA-2 Branch, on Tuesday (February 11).
The circular states that airlines and travel agencies operating flights in Bangladesh will arrange special airfares for workers and employees going abroad on work visas. All airlines, including Biman Bangladesh Airlines and the Board of Airlines Representatives (BAR), will take steps within the next seven days to reduce the ticket fares for expatriate workers, including those from the Middle East and Malaysia.
In addition, the circular has directed airlines and travel agencies to inform the actual sale price of the flight ticket along with the actual fare for group bookings. It says that for any ticket booking, including group tickets, the booking must be completed with the name of the passenger wishing to travel, the passport number, and a photocopy of the passport. If the ticket is not issued in the name of the concerned passenger within three days of booking, the airlines will automatically cancel the ticket.
The circular also says that until February 11, airlines and travel agencies will ensure the sale of the tickets blocked through group bookings within the next seven days along with the name, passport number, and a copy of the passport of the passenger wishing to travel. Otherwise, the concerned airlines will automatically cancel the tickets within the next three days.
All air tickets must be sold online, and the price of the tickets sold must be displayed online and on the ticket itself, it said, adding that airlines and travel agencies must comply with the provisions of ‘tariff filling’ as per the obligation contained in Rule 289 of the Civil Aviation Rules, 1984, and the Bangladesh Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) will publish the approved tariff on the airline’s own website. Airlines or travel agencies will refrain from selling tickets at a price higher than the fare submitted by the airline. At the same time, travel agencies will be required to provide the passenger with the price-bearing ticket received from the airlines, and they will also give a receipt for the sale of the ticket.
The ministry further stated in the directive that if the price of air tickets increases due to the sale of air tickets through other agents despite there being no demand or due to the stockpiling of excess tickets, the registration certificate of the main travel agency will be suspended or cancelled as per Rule 15 of the Bangladesh Travel Agencies (Registration and Regulation) Rules, 2022.
The circular also orders the stop of the sale of tickets through unregistered travel agencies as per the Bangladesh Travel Agencies (Registration and Regulation) Act, 2013.
