The technical glitch at the Biman Bangladesh Airlines aircraft that delayed Prime Minister Tarique Rahman’s flight to Dhaka from Tokyo was fixed on Thursday night, and the flight is expected to leave Narita International Airport shortly.

Captain Md Imamul Islam announced around 9:50pm local time that the problem was resolved and that passengers would start boarding the aircraft again soon.

The Biman flight was scheduled to leave Tokyo at 6pm local time.

The aircraft left its terminal around 6:18pm and moved to the runway for takeoff.

However, it stopped before taking off, and about 15 minutes later, the captain announced that the flight could not proceed due to 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.

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.

Meanwhile, Civil Aviation and Tourism Minister M Rashiduzzaman Millat, who is accompanying the Prime Minister on his visit to Japan, expressed sorry for the suffering caused to passengers by the flight delay.

Speaking at the Tokyo airport around 10:15pm local time, he said the delay was caused by a technical glitch, which has completely been fixed.

The minister said the aircraft is now safe to fly and will carry the Prime Minister and his entourage to Dhaka.

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 on a four-day state visit at the invitation of Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi.