Special Corrspondent — A major security and immigration lapse has come to light at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport (HSIA) after 71 Malaysia-bound passengers mysteriously fled the terminal building.
Despite successfully obtaining their boarding passes and clearing immigration, the passengers abandoned their flight at the final gate. The unprecedented incident has sparked serious concerns over the airport’s security protocols and the screening process for international travelers.
The incident occurred on Saturday night (July 4) aboard Biman Bangladesh Airlines flight BG-386, bound for Kuala Lumpur. The Boeing 787 Dreamliner was scheduled to carry 245 passengers. However, the flight departed at 8:35 PM leaving a staggering 76 passengers behind.
Gate Scrutiny Triggers Mass Panic
According to airport sources, the drama unfolded at the final boarding gate when airline personnel noticed severe discrepancies between the passports and e-visas of five passengers.
Suspecting that the travel documents were completely forged, airport officials immediately barred the five individuals from boarding the aircraft and initiated a preliminary interrogation.
As word of the document verification and questioning rapidly spread through the terminal, panic ensued among the remaining members of the travel group.
In a coordinated yet quiet move, 71 other passengers vanished from the boarding line one by one and slipped out of the airport undetected, choosing to abandon their journey rather than face document checks.
Lapses in Checking Infrastructure
Initial investigations suggest that all 76 individuals were attempting to travel to Malaysia on tourist visas under the arrangement of a specific travel agency, with covert plans to stay and work in the country illegally.
The incident has exposed severe loopholes in the airline’s ground operations. Airport sources confirmed that the airline’s check-in counters originally issued boarding passes to these passengers without thoroughly verifying the authenticity of their visas.
Relying on the initial check-in clearance, the group subsequently cleared the automated and manual immigration desks without any red flags being raised. It was only due to the vigilance of the boarding gate staff that the fraud was discovered.
Ongoing Investigation and Alternative Claims
An eyewitness at the scene described the moments leading up to the escape: “During the boarding process, a few passengers were pulled aside for questioning. Once it became clear that there was a major issue with their visas, several other passengers who were waiting in the queue suddenly disappeared from the area.”
Conversely, an alternative airport source indicated that some individuals within the group had been formally offloaded by immigration police earlier in the evening.
A few of these travelers had claimed they were transiting through Malaysia to perform Umrah in Saudi Arabia. However, immigration authorities suspended their departures after growing suspicious of their actual travel motives.
When approached for official comments regarding the security breach and the mass evasion, senior authorities at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport declined to give statements.
However, internal sources confirmed that multiple regulatory agencies are preparing to launch a comprehensive joint investigation into the travel agency involved and the checking procedures at the airport.