Flight Expert fraud: Travel agents urge action to stop unauthorised ticket refunds

Travel agents have urged authorities concerned to immediately stop refunds or cancellations of tickets issued through online travel agency Flight Expert Limited without the consent of passengers or the issuing agencies. 

At a human chain programme in front of the National Press Club in Dhaka today (9 August), they also demanded the return of funds from tickets already refunded, along with penalties, citing massive financial losses and violations of consumer protection and aviation regulations.

Flight Expert, which has been operating since 2017, allegedly embezzled crores of taka from hundreds of travel agencies and thousands of passengers. A case over the allegations was filed at Motijheel Police Station on 3 August. While some of the accused have been arrested, the company's Managing Director Salman Bin Rashid Sayem and Chairman MA Rashid Shah Samrat remain absconding.

According to speakers at the human chain, on 7 August, a court ordered that tickets issued through the Flight Expert portal cannot be refunded or canceled without prior approval, and a suspension order was sent to Motijheel police accordingly. However, they alleged that even after its own IATA ID was revoked, Flight Expert continued issuing tickets through third-party agencies.

They alleged that in many cases these third-party agencies refunded tickets without permission and kept the money for themselves. In some instances, they reissued tickets for the same journey at higher fares without providing receipts.