71 Malaysia-Bound Passengers Disappear Before Boarding

Seventy-one passengers scheduled to travel from Dhaka to Malaysia left Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport before boarding their flight after five fellow travellers were prevented from boarding over discrepancies involving their visas and passports, raising fresh concerns over document verification procedures at Bangladesh’s busiest international airport.

The incident occurred on Saturday evening on Biman Bangladesh Airlines flight BG-386 from Dhaka to Malaysia. The Boeing 787 Dreamliner departed Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport at 8:35 pm without 76 passengers who had earlier completed the check-in process and received boarding passes.

According to airport sources, the flight was scheduled to carry a total of 245 passengers. However, 76 of them ultimately failed to board despite having successfully completed the initial departure formalities.

Sources said all 76 passengers had checked in and collected their boarding passes before proceeding through the airport. During the final boarding process, however, officials reportedly discovered discrepancies between the visas and passports of five passengers at the boarding gate. Those five passengers were immediately offloaded and denied permission to board the aircraft.

The incident quickly affected other passengers travelling on the same flight.

Airport sources said that after news spread that several passengers had been stopped because of visa-related irregularities, many of the remaining travellers quietly left the airport. By the time boarding was completed, none of the 76 passengers—including the five who had been offloaded—had boarded the aircraft.

The unusual sequence of events has prompted questions about the effectiveness of the airport’s multi-stage document verification process.

According to airport sources, immigration police have systems in place to identify forged or invalid electronic visas before passengers leave the country. Despite that, the passengers’ documents were reportedly accepted as verified at the airline’s check-in counter, allowing boarding passes to be issued.

The passengers also cleared immigration and were granted permission to travel before the alleged irregularities were detected only at the boarding gate.

The apparent failure to identify suspected document problems during earlier stages of screening has raised concerns about how passengers carrying potentially invalid visas were able to pass through both the airline’s check-in process and immigration clearance before being stopped moments before boarding.

Airport sources further claimed that all 76 passengers were travelling to Malaysia on tourist visas. They also alleged that the group had planned to remain in Malaysia beyond the permitted period, reportedly based on assurances from a travel agency. However, no official evidence has been presented to support that allegation, and neither the authorities nor the airline has identified any agency allegedly involved.

An eyewitness described confusion inside the boarding area after several passengers were singled out for additional checks.

“During boarding, a few passengers were suddenly taken aside for questioning,” the witness said. “Later, we learned there was a problem with their visas. After that, several other passengers who had been standing in the boarding queue disappeared. Shortly afterwards, airport authorities offloaded a number of passengers from the flight.”

Repeated attempts to obtain comments from officials at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport were unsuccessful.

Airport sources, however, confirmed that several passengers had been offloaded because of visa-related issues. They did not clarify how many were stopped by immigration authorities before reaching the boarding gate or whether a formal investigation had been launched into the incident.

The episode has once again highlighted concerns over the verification of travel documents for outbound passengers, particularly those travelling on tourist visas to destinations that also attract large numbers of migrant workers. Airlines and immigration authorities are expected to examine passports, visas and other travel documents at multiple stages before departure to prevent the use of forged documents, curb illegal migration and combat human trafficking.

The circumstances surrounding the departure of the remaining passengers from the airport have also raised questions about passenger monitoring and security procedures after check-in and immigration clearance. It remains unclear whether the passengers voluntarily left the terminal, were instructed to do so or will face further scrutiny over their travel documents.

At the time of reporting, neither Biman Bangladesh Airlines nor the airport authorities had issued an official statement explaining how the passengers were able to complete multiple verification stages before the alleged visa discrepancies were detected at the boarding gate. It also remains unclear whether any internal inquiry has been initiated into the incident.