The technical problem that delayed Prime Minister Tarique Rahman’s flight from Tokyo to Dhaka was fixed on Thursday night, and the Biman Bangladesh Airlines aircraft was expected to leave Narita International Airport shortly.
Captain Md Imamul Islam announced at around 9:50pm local time that the problem had been resolved and passengers would soon begin boarding the aircraft again.
The flight had been scheduled to leave Tokyo at 6pm local time.
The aircraft left the terminal area at around 6:18pm and taxied towards the runway for takeoff. However, it stopped before taking off.
About 15 minutes later, the captain announced that the flight could not proceed because of a technical problem.
He said two engineers were working to resolve the issue. The aircraft was later taken back to the tarmac, and all passengers disembarked.
At around 8pm local time, the captain announced that it would take another two and a half hours to fix the problem.
Prime Minister Tarique Rahman, his wife, Dr Zubaida Rahman, and other members of his entourage were on board the aircraft.
The flight was originally scheduled to arrive at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka at 10:35pm Bangladesh time.
Tarique arrived in Japan on October 26 for a four-day state visit at the invitation of Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi.
