Experts question Biman's Rome technical-stop planning after 40-hour passenger ordeal

Aviation experts have questioned Biman Bangladesh Airlines' planning for technical stops and passenger recovery after a technical fault at Rome's Fiumicino Airport left hundreds of passengers stranded for nearly 40 hours, with many Bangladeshi passport holders unable to leave the airport for hotel accommodation.

Experts said selection of a technical-stop station should not be based solely on refuelling or aircraft operational requirements. The availability of maintenance support, line-maintenance agreements and arrangements to accommodate passengers in case of unforeseen disruptions should also be considered.

Highlights: TBS

They also questioned whether Biman's relevant departments adequately assessed these factors when deciding to use Rome as a technical stop.

"If this was a planned landing, we need to see whether Biman had a line-maintenance agreement there," aviation expert Wing Commander (retd) ATM Nazrul Islam told The Business Standard.

"In such a situation, two issues come to the fore—passenger recovery and aircraft recovery. Clearly, passenger recovery should have been given priority, but that did not happen," he said.

According to him, once an aircraft is declared grounded, bringing the necessary parts to repair a technical fault can take 24 to 48 hours. "That is why passenger recovery becomes important," he said.

Nazrul said Biman had several options to reduce passengers' suffering but apparently did not explore them adequately.

"There was an opportunity to take the passengers to hotels through diplomatic efforts. Whether Biman made that effort needs to be examined," he said.

"Even if the passengers could not be allowed into Italy despite such efforts, there was another option—sending them back to Bangladesh through another airline. If that had been done, they would not have had to remain there for 40 hours," he added.

The incident involved Biman's BG306 flight from Toronto to Dhaka, carrying 259 passengers. The aircraft stopped at Rome for refuelling after departing Toronto on Thursday. A technical problem was detected during the stop.

After around eight hours of efforts failed to resolve the problem, the flight was cancelled and passengers were taken off the aircraft. Biman subsequently arranged accommodation for some passengers at hotels and the airport lounge.

However, many Bangladeshi passport holders could not leave the airport because Italian immigration authorities did not permit them to enter the country. As a result, a large number of passengers had to remain at the airport for an extended period.

Capt A K M Aminul Islam, director of flight operations at Biman, said Rome was a planned technical stop.

"It was a planned landing because we stopped in Rome for refuelling. Previously, we used to take it from Istanbul, but since March we have been going to Rome," he told TBS.

He said Biman has agreements with specific companies for technical support, although he could not say at what stage the relevant arrangements were.

"The main problem here was that immigration did not allow the passengers to enter," he said.

However, he acknowledged another operational problem: Biman's staff at its Rome station did not have airport passes and therefore could not reach the passengers on time.

"Later, with the cooperation of the embassy, they entered the airport after four or five hours," he said.

The lack of airport passes for Biman personnel at a location where the airline operates regular flights has also raised questions among aviation-sector officials.

"If Biman has a station at Rome and operates regular flights there, why did the station staff not have airport passes?" a Biman official familiar with the matter questioned.

Biman spokesperson Boshra Islam told TBS the decision to shift Biman's technical stop from Istanbul to Rome was taken by the airline's senior management.

"In the latest flight, the affected passengers could not enter the country because Italy does not provide visas on arrival for Bangladeshi passport holders. This would have happened at any airport in the world if the concerned country does not provide visa-on-arrival facilities to our passengers," she said.

She added that a similar incident had previously occurred in Nagpur, India, where passengers were also not allowed to enter the country.

Bosra also pointed to Biman's limited aircraft availability as a factor behind the prolonged disruption.

"The main problem is our aircraft. Such problems also happen to other airlines. But because they have spare aircraft, they can immediately send another aircraft, so the problem does not become as visible," she said.

The aircraft eventually became operational after an engineering team from Bangladesh reached Rome with the required parts and equipment. The team arrived in Rome around 11:15pm Bangladesh time on Saturday, after which engineers repaired the aircraft and made it fit for flight.

The flight finally landed at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport at around 12:30pm on Sunday, ending the nearly 40-hour disruption.

Passengers, however, said their ordeal could have been reduced if Biman and the Bangladesh mission in Rome had secured alternative arrangements.

"We spent 40 hours like nomads. Eight hours were spent inside the aircraft. Then we were taken to the airport lounge and told that we would be taken to a hotel," passenger Shahjahan Alam told reporters after arriving in Dhaka.

"But American and Canadian passport holders were taken to hotels, while we Bangladeshis were left in the lounge. We remained there for 40 hours," he said.

State Minister for Civil Aviation and Tourism M Rashiduzzaman Millat said around 100 affected passengers had been transferred to hotels in Rome, while the remaining passengers were accommodated in the airport lounge.

He said special care was provided to sick, elderly, women and child passengers, and necessary medicines were also arranged.

The state minister also said officials of the Bangladesh Embassy in Rome maintained round-the-clock contact with the airport and monitored the situation, while coordination continued from Dhaka.