Meet 3-point demand, save pvt airlines: AOAB to govt

Aviation Operators Association of Bangladesh (AOAB) yesterday (June 1, 2022) called upon the government to meet its three-point demand for the survival of the country's ailing airline industry.

AOAB in a letter to the state minister for Civil Aviation M Mahbub Ali pointed out these demands.

Mafizur Rahman, AOAB secretary general and its SVP Abdullah Al

Mamun, handed over the letter to the junior minister at the latter's office at the secretariat.

This industry is on the verge of closing down due to rising fuel prices and some unforeseen circumstances when the airlines have just started to turn around after the Covid-19, said AOAB.

Referring to the unequal competition in the airline sector, the letter said that the private airline sector has faced unimaginable, unequal competition as a result of subsidised passenger transport to domestic destinations.

In the face of this unequal competition, the private airline sector will surely collapse. In the domestic sector, Biman has been operating its flight for a long time with almost double the subsidy against the per passenger income.

"Immediate resolve of this situation is desirable in the interest of justice and protection of private airlines," added AOAB.

Regarding the immense complexity in the import and export of different spare parts, AOAB said for a long time, the import policy of Bangladesh did not include the import of aircraft and parts, so the private airlines were facing various difficulties.

"We were hopeful that the recent inclusion of aircraft parts in Bangladesh's import policy would alleviate that suffering. But it is a matter of great regret that even now the parts have to be imported-exported and re-imported through a long process like before," the letter also read.

AOAB said this process is not tolerable for a growing sector like the airline industry. Therefore, it is essential to take the necessary steps to complete the import of parts only under the import policy.