Air ticket syndicate

It appears the air ticket syndicate is above any law, making nuisance and taking advantage of not being monitored properly by any regulatory agency. The cartel has been charging exorbitantly on the Middle East-bound passengers, be they are migrant workers or pilgrims. Biman Bangladesh Airlines is the main perpetrator in connivance with other syndicate members in the air travel business, as reported by different media outlets.

The Bangladesh Pilgrims and Hajji Welfare Council on Saturday said some errant agencies have been charging extra on the Middle East-bound air ticket in collusion with Biman Sales Office in Motijheel. The leader of the council demanded an immediate arrest of the ticket syndicates and the firing of the Biman sales executives involved in the malpractice. The real fare of the Biman ticket is Tk 67,000 but the syndicates charge Tk 78,000 to Tk 80,000 for the Dhaka-Jeddah route. So, every Omrah-bound passenger is forced to pay over Tk 11,000 per ticket, association leaders alleged. Speaking at a press conference held at Dhaka Reporters Unity, the council president Abdullah Al Naser claimed that more than 60 to 100 seats of Biman remain empty in every trip due to the syndication. As a result, the government loses a huge amount of revenue from the sector.

A few days ago, the Bangladesh Association of International Recruiting Agencies (BAIRA) stated, "Airlines are imposing extra fares on expatriates at will. It does not appear that any agency is monitoring the situation." Of course, the price of tickets can increase due to increasing demand. However, the recent spike in airfares has crossed all limits. There have been newspaper reports suggesting that some travel agencies, through their connections with different airlines, buy group tickets in an attempt to create an artificial crisis. This is tantamount to hoarding and must not be tolerated by the authorities concerned.

While Bangladesh Biman does not sell group tickets, other airlines do so. According to spokespersons of the recruiting agencies, the above-mentioned syndicate is formed by travel agencies and unscrupulous airlines officials. Quite interestingly, such a phenomenal hike in airfares has not been observed in Bangladesh's neighbouring countries. The fare for the Colombo-Riyadh route is Tk 38,000, while for the Kathmandu-Riyadh route, it is around Tk 45,000. The airfare for the Mumbai-Riyadh route is around Tk 32,000. These figures speak volumes and clearly indicate that something is rotten in the sector.

Already, because of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Bangladeshi migrant workers in the Middle East have faced a myriad of adversities such as unemployment, short working hours, isolation, poor quality of living, and mental pressure while their dependents at home are facing financial crisis due to the limited or reduced cash flow from their working relatives. Many of them were forced to return home. And just as Middle Eastern economies are opening up again and Bangladeshi workers have begun going to their workplaces with the waning of the coronavirus, their airfare has been soared unreasonably high. Until and unless the airfares are not brought down to a reasonable level, it will be increasingly difficult for these poor people to go to their working destinations.

Typically, other foreign airlines carrying passengers to and from Bangladesh follow the rates that Biman offers to passengers. Foreign airlines cite the examples of Biman’s rates when they are asked about the rationale of hikes. It is an unholy nexus that also involves foreign airlines in the entire process. The syndicate is strong, but the government, we tend to believe, is stronger. Outbound migrant workers are the key contributor to our economy. Charging higher on them, harassing them in the airports, and leaving their issues unattended are tantamount to ignoring their immense contributions. The air ticket syndicate must be busted for the sake of the economy, and for upholding the country's image. The woes of pilgrims and would-be-migrant workers are now the pressing issue for the government to solve, bringing the culprits to books without further delay.