182 passengers endure a harrowing 5-hour ordeal inside aircraft at Shahjalal

The flight was scheduled to depart at 2:15 am, but due to a technical snag, it finally took off at 7:50 am. During this five-and-a-half-hour delay, 182 passengers were kept confined inside the closed aircraft.

Passengers on the Dhaka-to-Colombo FitsAir flight (8D 0912) faced this harrowing experience on 11 July at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport.

Stranded for an extended period, the passengers alleged that they suffered severe physical and mental distress. According to their complaints, several passengers fell ill due to being confined to one spot for so long.

They further claimed that no adequate food or essential assistance was provided during this period, and that they were subjected to misconduct and rudeness.

Whilst acknowledging the flight delay, the Shahjalal airport authorities stated that they have received no formal complaints regarding passenger harassment.

Meanwhile, a FitsAir spokesperson denied any liability for the delay and evaded the allegations of mistreating passengers.

There are no mandatory international regulations stating that passengers must be disembarked for repairs if a technical fault is detected in an aircraft. However, if the delay is prolonged, passengers are generally brought back to the terminal.

According to the United States Department of Transportation regulations, passengers cannot be held on the tarmac for more than three hours on domestic flights and four hours on international flights.

Sonia Rifat, a Sri Lanka-bound passenger on the FitsAir flight, is the co-founder of a women’s travel group named ‘Go Girls’. Speaking to Prothom Alo on Saturday after arriving in Colombo, Sonia described her ordeal.

Sonia said that the entire process, from the check-in counter to boarding the aircraft, was marred by utter chaos. The behaviour of the airline staff was very unprofessional.

“Immediately after boarding, we were informed of a technical fault,” Sonia said. “However, despite no prospect of a quick resolution, the passengers were held hostage inside the plane. I began suffering from severe breathing difficulties. Despite repeatedly informing them of my physical illness, I was denied permission to disembark. I was forced to stand by the door just to try and catch some breath.”

Sonia also alleged that no food was served until before 7:30 am. She noted that children and elderly passengers faced severe distress after being left without sustenance for such a long period.

“Those who considered cancelling their journey were subjected to abusive behaviour. When one of my team members requested to be offloaded, she was treated with immense rudeness, and a bag was aggressively thrown in the face of another member.”

Upon reaching Sri Lanka, Sonia had to seek medical treatment at a hospital. She presented a prescription from a Sri Lankan hospital to Prothom Alo as proof of her illness.

Following this bitter experience, their organisation ‘Go Girls’ has resolved not to operate any future tours with FitsAir.

For another passenger, Mehreen Rahman, this was supposed to be the first solo trip of her life. Due to the negligence of the aviation authorities, it turned into a “nightmare”, prompting her to disembark from the plane without travelling to Colombo.

“There was no arrangement for food or refreshments on the plane. Sitting for such an extended period became unbearable for many. There were several diabetic patients on board who required food at regular intervals. They also suffered immensely because FitsAir failed to provide any humanitarian assistance and kept us seated inside the aircraft for hours on end,” Mehreen told Prothom Alo.

When the Shahjalal International Airport hotline was contacted regarding the passengers’ complaints against the Colombo-based budget airline FitsAir, an official named ‘Mahdi’ advised contacting two specific numbers for FitsAir and Aviation Security.

Upon calling those numbers, a duty officer named ‘Sajib’ from Aviation Security stated that they were unaware of the matter. He advised contacting the Executive Director of the airport.

Meanwhile, multiple attempts to call the FitsAir number provided by the hotline went unanswered. When the hotline was contacted again to check if there was an alternative contact number for the airline, the same official, Mahdi, answered and provided another number.

After calling the new number multiple times, an individual answered. He identified himself as a spokesperson for FitsAir and stated his name was ‘Rana’. However, he neither provided his full name nor mentioned his designation.

The individual named Rana told Prothom Alo that their flight was delayed by “only 45 minutes” beyond its scheduled time. However, at that time, runway renovation work was underway at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport, preventing any flights from taking off or landing. Although the runway reopened later, the flight could not depart due to adverse weather conditions and an aviation warning.

Rana added that airport operations were at a standstill due to lighting work on the runway and heavy rainfall. He claimed the flight was delayed due to passenger safety and runway limitations, but insisted it was by no means five to six hours.

Despite Rana’s claims, an analysis of the metadata from photos taken by passengers of the flight revealed that the 2:15 am flight finally took off for Colombo at around 7:50 am. This indicates that the passengers remained seated inside the aircraft for over 5 hours and 35 minutes.

Rana further claimed that there were limitations regarding airport logistical support for offloading passengers and unloading their baggage.

When contacted multiple times later to ascertain Rana’s full identity, he did not answer the calls, nor did he respond to text messages.

When asked about the passengers’ ordeal, Group Captain SM Ragib Samad, Executive Director of Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport, provided detailed information via email.

Ragib Samad stated that FitsAir flight 8D 911/912 arrived in Dhaka at 2:00 am, which was 45 minutes behind its scheduled arrival time of 1:15 am. The flight was scheduled to depart for Colombo at 2:15 am.

The Executive Director explained that just prior to take-off, engineers inspected the aircraft and detected a technical fault, discovering that the hydraulic fluid level had dropped. The engineers declared the aircraft unairworthy until the fault was rectified. This issue caused the departure delay.

Acknowledging that the passengers remained inside the aircraft from 2:45 am until 7:50 am, Ragib Samad stated that they had to stay on board for approximately five hours.

He added that keeping the passengers’ convenience in mind, light refreshments were arranged at around 6:00 am.

The Executive Director of Shahjalal Airport concluded by stating that no complaints have been received from any party so far regarding unprofessional behaviour or misconduct by FitsAir staff towards passengers.