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The Biman Bangladesh Airlines flight that was grounded in Rome due to a technical problem has finally arrived at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka.
The flight landed at 12:24pm on Sunday (August 9), airport Executive Director SM Ragib Samad confirmed to Sara Bangla.
Flight BG306, carrying 259 passengers, departed Toronto for Dhaka on Thursday. It made a scheduled stop at Rome Airport on Friday to refuel, when a technical problem was detected.
After engineers failed to fix the problem despite nearly eight hours of efforts, the flight was cancelled and passengers were asked to disembark. Biman authorities subsequently arranged accommodation for them at a hotel and an airport lounge.
An engineering team carrying the necessary spare parts and equipment reached Rome on a flight at around 11:15pm Bangladesh time on Saturday. The team repaired the aircraft and made it fit for flight.
Meanwhile, the prolonged grounding of the aircraft caused significant hardship for passengers. Many were unable to leave the airport because Italian immigration authorities did not allow Bangladeshi passport holders to enter the country due to visa restrictions.
Passengers alleged that after the aircraft landed in Rome, they were kept waiting inside the plane for nearly eight hours after being informed about the technical problem. Several children, elderly passengers and people with health conditions reportedly became unwell during the long wait.
The passengers were later taken to an area inside the airport. Although a lounge was arranged at around 11pm, it could not accommodate everyone. Some passengers reportedly had to spend the night on the floor or in chairs.
Passengers also complained of delays in receiving food during the prolonged wait. Some said they were unable to take essential medicines and insulin on time because they were kept in their checked baggage.