By IANS
Dhaka : Bangladesh airline Biman will lease three aircraft and put two more under repair into operation by this month-end to tide over a huge passenger backlog, a top official said.
Passenger traffic is in disarray in the country with an estimated 150,000 Bangladeshis working abroad and presently on home leave fearing they may lose jobs for failing to return on time to the countries where they work.
This has forced the government to declare a temporary, three-month, open-sky policy, allowing foreign budget operators to lift passengers stranded because of the failure of national carrier Biman.
Biman, which was converted into a public limited corporation recently, has also been given additional task of ferrying Hajj pilgrims to and from Saudi Arabia, something it is not happy with.
“Despite Biman’s unwillingness to transport hajj pilgrims, the government has entrusted it with this responsibility,” M.A. Momen, CEO and managing director of the national flag carrier, was quoted in The Daily Star as saying.
Admitting Biman was facing a crisis, Momen said: “We are struggling hard to come out of this situation.”
Suffering accumulated losses and denial of some prestigious routes to the US and Europe by counties that raised air safety issues, Biman sacked 200 workers this year.