Another travel scam takes off: Fly Far Int'l shuts down amid fraud allegations

Another online travel agency, Fly Far International, has allegedly disappeared after taking huge amount of advance payments from customers.

On Wednesday, users could no longer check ticket prices or make bookings through its website today.

Many customers have shared allegations on social media, claiming they have been defrauded by the company. They said Fly Far International lured customers with attractive offers on air tickets, hotel bookings, and travel packages and collected millions of taka in advance.

The company's office, located on the second floor of Haji Abdul Latif Mansion in Bashundhara Residential Area, was found closed on Wednesday when aggrieved clients gathered there.

Ahead of the upcoming holiday season, Fly Far International had run social media advertisements offering "unbelievable discounts" on packages and tickets to destinations across Europe, North America, and the Middle East.

Many customers, drawn by these promotions, made advance payments through the platform. But when they did not receive tickets or confirmation documents by the promised date, they started reaching out to the company.

Since Tuesday, the firm's office was found closed, and website, phone lines inaccessible, exposing the alleged scam.

This is not the first time a Bangladeshi OTA has vanished after taking money from customers. Previously, Flight Expert and several other platforms were accused of similar frauds. The recurrence of such incidents has raised serious questions about the role of regulatory authorities.

Former secretary general of Association of Travel Agents of Bangladesh (ATAB) Afsia Jannat Saleh told The Daily Star, "After the Flight Expert incident, we had hoped the government would take effective measures to regulate OTAs. But no visible action has been taken yet."

"Such fraudulence will happen again and again if the government does not enact a guideline to regulate OTAs," she added.

Afsia also said, "From ATAB, we had prepared a guideline on OTA and submitted to all the government's respective departments and ministries. But no development was made in this regard."