The air ticket market in Bangladesh appears to have fallen back into the grip of syndicates, as ticket prices on popular Middle East-bound routes surge once more, raising serious concerns among travellers, travel agencies and industry stakeholders, alleges the Association of Travel Agent of Bangladesh (ATAB).

During December, January and February, one-way tickets from Dhaka to Riyadh, Jeddah, Madinah and Dammam were being sold under the guise of ‘group bookings’ at nearly Tk 1 lakh, while the official system prices ranged from Tk 1.7 to Tk 1.8 lakh, ATAB said in a media release on Saturday.

In an attempt to curb these abnormal prices and restore order, the Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism issued a circular on February 11, mandating that air tickets be booked only with the passenger’s name, passport details and a photocopy of the passport.

Following the circular, it said, prices dropped significantly. But, recent reports suggest that the directive is being disregarded by several airlines, including EgyptAir, Saudia, and certain budget carriers, with syndicate groups once again becoming active.

Alarming allegations have surfaced that some airlines are booking tickets using fictitious names, only to change them days before the flight to resell them at inflated prices.

This practice directly violates the government order, as pre-booked group tickets without passenger details are reappearing in the system, leading to an artificial seat shortage and driving up prices, according to the media release.

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General travellers, travel agency operators and others in the aviation sector are reportedly suffering heavy financial losses as a result.

Despite clear directives, it said, the airlines, general sales agents (GSAs), and ticket syndicates continue their operations unchecked due to the lack of legal enforcement.

There are also claims that some airlines are blocking tickets without names and selling them to foreign agencies. These agencies then resell the tickets through local syndicates and brokers, with funds reportedly being transferred abroad through illegal hundi channels.

In addition to syndicate manipulation, flight reductions by several airlines have significantly lowered seat availability, contributing further to the price hike. Questions have been raised about whether these reductions, especially during peak travel seasons, are intentional.

Compared to the same period last year, flight frequency has dropped drastically. Notable changes include:

01.Salam Air
14 (Previous Weekly Flights)
0 (Operations suspended)

02.Qatar Airways
21 (Previous Weekly Flights)
14 (Current Weekly Flights)

03.Jazeera Airways
14 (Previous Weekly Flights)
7 (Current Weekly Flights)

04.Air Arabia
28(Previous Weekly Flights)
21 (Current Weekly Flights)

ATAB voiced serious concerns, saying that the failure to enforce the government directive and take punitive actions has allowed the ticket syndicates to regain control of the market.

As a result, it said, ticket prices continue to rise and are increasingly out of reach for migrant workers and the general public.