A flight of Biman Bangladesh Airlines en route from Madinah, Saudi Arabia to Dhaka’s Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport was diverted to Sylhet Osmani International Airport due to non-compliance with a Notam (Notice to Airmen).
However, the airline authorities do not consider the incident a result of pilot error.
According to the authorities, the pilot attempted to bypass the Notam by initiating departure ahead of the scheduled time.
Despite the early departure, the aircraft could not avoid the restriction and was subsequently diverted to Sylhet, incurring additional landing charges.
Sources confirm that on the day of the incident—Wednesday—a Boeing 777 flight from Madinah to Dhaka took off ahead of schedule.
The Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh had issued a Notam declaring the runway at Shahjalal International Airport temporarily closed from 11:45am to 12:45pm on that day.
In an effort to circumvent the runway closure, the pilot departed 16 minutes earlier than the designated departure time.
Despite this attempt, the pilot failed to land within the permissible window and was therefore instructed to divert the flight to Sylhet.
Once the Notam alert period concluded, the aircraft departed from Sylhet and successfully landed at its original destination, Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport.
As a consequence, Biman Bangladesh Airlines incurred additional landing fees.
Regarding the matter, Bosra Islam, general manager of the Public Relations Department of Biman Bangladesh Airlines, told Bangla Tribune: “This is a routine occurrence. The pilot attempted to avoid the Notam. As that was not feasible, he landed in Sylhet.”
In response to a query, she further explained: “In many cases, if a passenger falls ill mid-flight, we are obliged to land at the nearest airport, which also results in extra charges. In this case, as operations at Shahjalal were suspended during that hour, the flight had to be redirected to the nearest available airport. Accordingly, the incurred charges are the responsibility of the airline.”
When asked whether the additional charge was the consequence of a pilot error, she said: “We do not believe this was due to a pilot’s fault. Even if the flight had departed later from Madinah, the charge would still have applied."
She further added: "The pilot made an effort to avoid the Notam by departing 16 minutes earlier in hopes of landing prior to the alert period. However, that did not prove possible. Therefore, the incident is not being viewed as pilot negligence."
