The government has issued directives through a circular to travel agencies in the country to ensure transparency in airfare.
The Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism (MoCAT) issued the directives on Thursday, with the aim of protecting passengers from overcharging and facilitating fair ticket sales.
The circular also outlined several measures to ensure that travelers reach their destinations at the actual fare.
According to the circular, all travel agencies in the country must clearly mention the agency's name, its license number, and ticket price on the air tickets in the interest of air passengers.
Passengers have also been asked to verify the tickets to ensure that the ticket price and travel agency name are mentioned on the ticket, and not to purchase any ticket from an unregistered agency.
The Ministry also warned that punitive action, including license cancellation, would be taken against any travel agency found to be involved in abnormal ticket price hikes or syndicate activities.
Earlier on February 11 this year, the ministry issued another notification asking airlines and travel agencies to follow certain directives to ensure transparency in air tickets.
However, according to the new circular, travel agencies are not following the directives properly.
All ticket bookings, including group ticket bookings, must include the passenger's name, passport number, and a photocopy of the passport, as stated in the earlier circular. It also added that if a ticket is not issued within three days of booking, airlines will automatically cancel it.
The circular also mandates airlines and travel agencies to sell all tickets online with the fare clearly displayed on both the website and the ticket itself.
All group ticket sales must be reported to the Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism, which will publish the pricing information on its website for public awareness.
Airlines and travel agencies are strictly prohibited from selling tickets at prices higher than those submitted to the Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB). They must comply with the "tariff filing" requirements under Rule 289 of the Civil Aviation Rules, 1984, and the approved tariff must be published on the CAAB website.
Additionally, the circular instructs travel agencies to provide passengers with tickets showing the official price from the airlines and to issue a receipt for the sale.
In an effort to curb price manipulation, the Ministry warned that agencies found stockpiling tickets or selling them through unauthorized channels would face penalties.
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