The Association of Travel Agents Bangladesh (ATAB) has demanded an immediate halt to the spiralling air ticket prices and the practice of airlines selling and hoarding bulk tickets without passenger details.
"One of the biggest problems in the civil aviation sector of Bangladesh in recent times is the excessive increase in the price of air tickets," said ATAB President Abdus Salam Aref while speaking at a press conference at a Dhaka hotel on Sunday (26 January).
He emphasised that the current crisis, characterised by soaring ticket prices, could be resolved by releasing over 60,000 seats currently blocked by airlines.
Aref urged the government and the civil aviation authorities to intervene by establishing maximum and minimum fare limits to provide relief to students and overseas workers.
He highlighted that the primary cause of the price surge is the booking of group tickets by airlines without proper passenger information such as passports, visas, and work permits.
"Some Middle East-bound airlines block group seats on various routes in the name of a few agencies of their choice, without any passport, visa, travel documents, and any foreign work permit for expatriate workers, even without a passenger list, by simply creating passenger name records (PNRs) dated 2/3 months in advance through email," Aref explained.
"In this way, tickets are hoarded. As a result, syndicates are created, seat shortages arise, ticket prices increase by 20%-50%, sometimes double or triple, and overseas workers, students, and expatriates face extreme financial losses," he added.
Aref recommended several measures to address this issue.
He urged the government to increase flight schedules and operations, expedite approvals for new flights, and declare open skies to attract airlines from other countries and increase passenger options.
He also demanded that the government restrict ticket sales without passenger details to prevent hoarding and ensure fair distribution.
Furthermore, Aref called for the implementation of transparent fare policies by setting realistic maximum and minimum fares for different routes and prohibiting the sale of group tickets at hidden fares to ensure fair pricing for all passengers.
The ATAB chief emphasised the need for a more equitable distribution of airline seats, urging airlines to utilise Global Distribution Systems (GDS) and Networked Data Centers (NDC) to ensure all agencies have equal access to tickets.
