Biman Bangladesh Airlines flight BG-306 from Toronto landed in Dhaka on Sunday 9 August, almost 40 hours late. The Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner, carrying 259 passengers, had made an unscheduled refuelling stop at Rome Fiumicino, where a technical fault prevented it from continuing.
Two days at the airport
After several repair attempts the aircraft was grounded and passengers disembarked. About a hundred were put up in Rome hotels; the others — partly because they had no Italian visa — stayed in the airport lounge. Some slept on chairs and the floor and reported delayed meals and difficulty getting medicines and luggage, especially elderly and diabetic passengers.
Biman sent engineers and spare parts from Dhaka on flight BG-305. The plane left Rome on Saturday at 11 pm local time. Officials from the Bangladesh Embassy in Rome monitored the situation.
What to do if your flight is stranded
If you hold a valid Italian residence permit you can leave the airport, so always carry it with you. For cancellations and long delays on flights departing from the EU, EU Regulation 261/2004 provides for care (meals, hotel) and in many cases compensation: keep boarding passes and receipts.
