Tokyo:Prime Minister Tarique Rahman's flight to Dhaka from Tokyo was delayed on Thursday after the Biman Bangladesh Airlines aircraft developed a technical glitch shortly before takeoff from Narita International Airport.
According to United News of Bangladesh, the aircraft left the airport terminal around 618pm local time and moved to the runway for takeoff. However, it stopped on the runway, and about 15 minutes later, Captain Md Imamul Islam announced that the flight could not proceed due to a technical problem.
He stated that two engineers were working to resolve the issue and that the flight would resume once the problem was fixed. The aircraft was subsequently taken back to the tarmac. Prime Minister Tarique Rahman, his wife Dr. Zubaida Rahman, and other members of his entourage were on board the aircraft. Later, all passengers disembarked.
Around 8pm local time, the captain made another announcement, indicating that it would take an additional two and a half hours to fix the technical problem. The Prime Minister was scheduled to leave Tokyo for Dhaka at 6pm local time, concluding his four-day state visit to Japan. The flight was originally planned to arrive at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka at 1035pm Bangladesh time. Tarique arrived in Japan on October 26 at the invitation of Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi.