Social media photos of the interior of a Boeing Dreamliner jet of Biman Bangladesh Airlines have shown broken seat handles, panels and dangling LED screens.
Biman authorities said the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner jet, one of the latest additions to its fleet, was flying on the Dhaka-Toronto route.
Photos circulating on Facebook showed both handles of a seat in tatters, the panels under it broken and the attached LED monitor for the seat ripped out of commission, according to bdnews24.com.
While the frame of the seats also appeared damaged, wastes like plastic spoons, bottles and blankets could be seen loitering on the floor. Authorities of the flag carrier, however, were unable to confirm what actually happened there.
Biman MD and CEO Shafiul Azim said the jet was currently in Toronto. The news of the vandalism arrived in Dhaka on Tuesday afternoon.
The plane has been operating on the route since July last year, stopping for an hour in Turkey for refuelling during the 21-hour trip. Sources at Biman said passengers were enthusiastic about the service since its inception.
Shafiul said: “It’s clear that the action involved extremely harmful intentions. It’s tough to figure out whether the malice was directed towards Biman or the country. It may also occur due to us doing well on this route. We’re taking the matter very seriously.”
“We’re trying to identify who sat there, what the passenger’s nationality is. We’ll then take legal steps.”
Terming the act to be “anti-state”, Shafiul said such incidents had happened before. “None of our people, those from other airlines or foreigners would do such things.”
Shafiul said some people with harmful intentions use negative photos of jets or the aviation sector and spread them as photos from Biman services.