A Bangkok-bound flight of Biman Bangladesh Airlines was forced to return to Dhaka about an hour after take-off on Wednesday due to a technical fault.
The aircraft, carrying 146 passengers, landed safely at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport and the passengers were later flown to their destination on a replacement flight, Al Masud Khan, public relations manager of Biman Bangladesh Airlines, told UNB.
The affected passengers were accommodated on another flight — a Boeing 777 — which departed for Bangkok at 6:02pm, he added.
He further added that the matter is under investigation by the engineering department.
According to Biman officials, flight BG-388 departed from Dhaka at 12:06pm for Bangkok using a Boeing 737-800 aircraft (registration: S2-AFL), which has a capacity of 170 passengers. While flying over Myanmar airspace, the pilot detected an unusual vibration in one of the engines.
Prioritising passenger safety, the pilot made the decision to turn back, and the aircraft landed safely in Dhaka at 1:21pm.
This marks the second such incident within a week.
On 28 July, Biman flight BG-349 en route to Dammam, Saudi Arabia, had to return to Dhaka after flying for an hour. That flight, operated by a Boeing 777-ER, departed at 3:33pm and returned at 4:33pm.