Flight Expert, a prominent online travel agency in Bangladesh, has stopped its operations The sudden cease left thousands of customers and partner agencies in distress. On the 2nd of August, the company’s website became inaccessible along with the disconnection of its customer service lines, fuelling fears of a massive financial scam.
The company’s office is locked
According to reports, Salman Bin Rashid Shah Sayeem, the managing director, and his father, MA Rashid Shah Shamrat, the chairman of the parent firm Makkah Group, have fled to Canada on suspicion of embezzling funds from clients and companies.
The Dhaka Metropolitan Police arrested three top executives, Sakib Hossain, Sayeed Ahmed, and AKM Shahadat Hossain, in connection with a fraud case that was presented by the travel agency Bipul Sarker, who alleged that Tk 40 million ($328,098) had been embezzled.
The Association of Travel Agents of Bangladesh (ATAB) told local media that the managing director, Salman Bin Rashid Shah Sayeem, allegedly locked the company’s office, disabled its website, and left the country. According to preliminary calculations, the whole fraud case could rise to $492.23 thousand.
During an emergency meeting, ATAB has revoked its membership of Flight Expert. ATAB’s Executive Committee recommended freezing all refunds for its sold tickets (to stop more travellers from getting burnt) and giving banks a heads-up to curb its excessive discount campaigns offered through credit cards.
ATAB has criticised the unsustainable practices of online travel agencies, urging stricter government oversight. The incident follows similar scams by agencies like Haltrip and 24tkt.com, raising concerns about the online travel industry’s stability.
Customers, including those who booked flights, tours, visas, and Hajj packages from Flight Expert, are now unable to access tickets or secure refunds.
Customers and agents have expressed their displeasure on social media, calling for justice. As investigations continue, the aftermath has left Bangladesh’s tourism industry dealing with uncertainty, requests for change, and stricter laws.
About the Flight Expert
Flight Expert, launched in 2016 as Bangladesh’s first full-fledged online travel agency, was known for competitive pricing and services like flight bookings, hotel reservations, and visa processing.
Flight Expert once held close to 35% market share of the OTA (online travel agency) booking segment in Bangladesh. The company operates travel booking services throughout the world and has listings for about 250,000 hotels and over 600 airlines.
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