Over 200 passengers stranded as Turkish Airlines cancels flights from Dhaka

More than 200 passengers of Turkish Airlines have been left in the lurch in Dhaka's Shahajalal International Airport after the airlines cancelled their scheduled flights.

Staff CorrespondentGolam Mujtaba Dhrubabdnews24.com
Published : 23 Oct 2017, 07:11 PM
Updated : 23 Oct 2017, 07:11 PM

The passengers alleged that the airlines were making promises every now and again but there was no sign of alternative flights to ferry them to their destinations.

The local office of the Turkish Airlines says they are sending the passengers gradually in different flights.

Sima Molla from North Badda returned home after she failed to board a plane for Italy for the second consecutive day.

She bought a ticket for the 5am Sunday flight and the flight was rescheduled for Monday 6:15am, but cancelled again.

Sima's brother Jahidul Islam told bdnews24.com: "The airline authorities assured the passengers of taking them to their destinations, but there has been no reflection of their promise in their work.

"At least 200 passengers have suffered because of the disruption," he said.

Rafique Prodhan from Narayanganj's Fatullah said on Monday evening that he had been waiting for 36 hours at the airport to catch a flight to Milan.

He alleged the staff of Turkish Airlines 'misbehaved' with him instead of arranging his trip.

"The passengers are helpless here," he said.

Turkish Airlines Customer Service Manager Zafar Imam told bdnews24.com that a total of 236 passengers could not reach their destinations on schedule because of the cancellation of flights.

"Now 67 of them are staying at a hotel in Dhaka after we started to send them gradually. We will send them tomorrow (Tuesday) morning," he said.

He denied the allegation of ‘mistreatment' by the employees of the airline. 

"The passengers have become a bit agitated due to the cancellation of the flights. We are trying to calm them down by explaining the situation.

“We've arranged a place for them to say. No one has been rude to them," he claimed.