Flight Expert Shutdown Sparks Panic Among Businesses, Uncertainty Over Ticket Refunds

Dhaka, August 3, 2025 – The sudden closure of Flight Expert, one of Bangladesh’s leading online flight ticket booking platforms, has left numerous small and medium-sized ticket-selling agencies in distress. A crowd of affected individuals gathered at the company’s office in Motijheel, Dhaka, on Saturday evening (August 2, 2025), following news of the shutdown.

At least 69 businesses have reported that over BDT 270 million (27 crore) of their funds are at risk. Additional agencies are also believed to be affected. The closure, announced on Saturday, has triggered widespread concern, particularly after Soma International, a major ticket-selling agency, began refunding tickets booked through Flight Expert on Saturday night. This move has caused panic among smaller agencies, who fear they may not recover the funds they paid to Flight Expert for advance ticket bookings.

Abul Hosen, one of the affected individuals, told , “Why did Soma International lock their office from the outside and start refunding all PNRs (Passenger Name Records) on Saturday night? They need to explain openly. Why didn’t they wait or seek help from others?” He added, “They must have known about this scam. Why else would they act in secret?” Flight Expert provided services such as domestic and international flight ticket bookings, hotel reservations, tour packages, and visa processing. Its popularity stemmed from offering affordable and convenient ticket booking options. However, the company abruptly ceased operations on Saturday, leaving customers and partner agencies in limbo. Some Flight Expert officials have alleged that the company’s management has fled the country, putting billions of taka owed to customers and suppliers at risk. In response, Salman Bin Rashid, the managing director of Flight Expert, denied the allegations of absconding with funds. In a WhatsApp message to employees on Saturday, he claimed that two company officials betrayed him, prompting him to shut down the company and leave the country to protect himself from threats and defamation. The closure has caused an uproar, with small ticket-selling agencies flocking to Flight Expert’s Motijheel office. Affected businesses reported that, as of Sunday morning, many tickets issued under passengers’ names (PNRs) were no longer visible in airline systems. They allege that Soma International has begun refunding tickets, and Haji Air Travels has announced it will start refunds from Monday. When contacted, officials at Soma International’s Dhaka office stated that the matter was being handled from their Sylhet office but provided no further details. Multiple attempts to reach Soma International’s Sylhet office by phone were unsuccessful. On Sunday afternoon, affected agency owners visited Soma International’s Dhaka office, demanding compensation for refunded tickets. Sources familiar with Flight Expert’s operations revealed that the company used not only its own International Air Transport Association (IATA) number but also those of other agencies, including Makkah Tours and Travels, Soma International, Haji Air Travels, and Proma, to book tickets. Following the news of Flight Expert’s closure, some of these agencies reportedly began refunding tickets to recover their funds, leaving smaller agencies that had collected payments from customers and forwarded them to Flight Expert in a precarious position. Mahmud, the owner of a small agency in Cumilla, told Prothom Alo that nine of his tickets, worth BDT 434,000, were booked through Flight Expert. By Sunday morning, two tickets worth nearly BDT 100,000 had been canceled, and he expressed concern about the remaining tickets, stating, “If those are canceled too, I’ll be left with nothing.” To address the issue, Abdus Salam Aref, president of the Association of Travel Agents of Bangladesh (ATAB), told Prothom Alo that they plan to submit a request to the ministry on Monday to prevent agencies from refunding tickets without passenger consent. He emphasized that once a ticket is sold, the passenger is the owner, and any agency refunding tickets without authorization could face government action if passengers file complaints. ATAB is collecting data from affected parties to forward to the ministry and plans to issue a show-cause notice to Flight Expert’s owner. **Legal Action Taken**

On Saturday night, a customer named Bipul Sarker filed a case at Motijheel Police Station, accusing Flight Expert of embezzling crores of taka. Police arrested three company officials: Head of Finance Sakib Hosen (32), Chief Commercial Officer Saeed Ahmed (40), and Chief Operating Officer AKM Sadat Hosen (32). On Sunday, a Dhaka Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Court ordered their detention. The case names five individuals, including Salman Bin Rashid Shah Sayem, Flight Expert’s managing director, and his father, MA Rashid, as accused. Efforts to apprehend the remaining suspects are ongoing, according to Motijheel Police Station Officer-in-Charge Mezbah Uddin