Staff Reporter :
Members of Bangladesh Association of International Recruiting Agencies alleged that a syndicate is blocking all air tickets and charging abnormal high prices from the expatriates.
“The real price of one way ticket from Bangladesh to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is Tk 40,000, but it is sold by the syndicate at more than Tk 90,000,” Md. Fakhrul Islam, former Treasurer of BAIRA said it during a press briefing at Dhaka Reporters Unity on Wednesday.
He urges the government to take immediate actions to protect the migrant workers.
The fare from Bangladesh to the countries in the Middle East is unreasonably high comparing with the neighboring India, Pakistan, Nepal and Sri Lanka.
They said, “The fare from Dhaka to Riyadh for a six hour journey is Tk 80,000 to Tk 90 thousand, whereas, from Dhaka to New Yurok for a 23 hour journey-it is Tk 65 thousand only. It is really surprising.”
The business leaders said also that flight crises have become painful for about 50,000 migrant workers.
Former President of BAIRA Alhaj Abul Basar and former Secretary General Ali Haider Chowdhury answered different questions of the journalists.
Former leader of Baira Ashraf Uddin, former joint-secretary general of BAIRA Mizanur Rahman, secretary general of RAFA Farid Ahmed, RAFA Dhaka Metropolitan Secretary General and proprietor of Aman Enterprise Md. Rafiqul Islam Patwari, former EC member of BAIRA Lima Begum, proprietor of Mass Bangla Overseas Jamil Hossain, BAIRA leaders Alhaj Zahirul Haque Zoo and Mozammel Hossain.
The business leaders said, about 20 pc air passengers fly with Biman Bangladesh Airlines, while the rest 80 pc fly by foreign airways.
They said that Biman unreasonably increase charges while the foreign airlines also hiked prices of services following the Biman.
“Such increased costs make untold suffering for the lower income expatriates in the country,” they said.
The business leaders urged the government to take necessary measures for reducing air costs and start special flights for the expatriates soon.
