National flag carrier Biman is now a profitable organisation, thanks to the efforts and various initiatives taken by the government, according to State Minister for Civil Aviation and Tourism Md Mahbub Ali.
Addressing the 'Dialogue' program of the Bangladesh Secretariat Reporters’ Forum (BSRF), Mahbub Ali also disclosed that Biman remained profitable even during the Covid-19 pandemic, defying the norm for airlines globally. The salaries and allowances of all the Biman staff are paid from its own income, he added.
The program was held Tuesday at the Secretariat in Dhaka.
Mahbub Ali said Biman had taken out a Tk1,000 crore loan in the form of a government incentive during the pandemic period with soft terms. Within a year of taking the money, Biman repaid the loan with interest from its profits.
“The airlines have to pay their employees from their own earnings as all authorities under the Civil Aviation Ministry are commercial and they need to bear their expenses from their own earnings,” he claimed.
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The government doesn’t allocate a budget for Biman, he added.
"Giants of the airline industry across the globe incurred losses during the pandemic. The tourism sector has gone through a massive disaster," the junior minister said. "But we worked relentlessly. We tried to communicate with the foreign embassies, so that Biman could survive operating cargo flights. We continued earning and Biman's accounts stayed in the black during the period."
Despite the unstable global market situation and the domestic hike in fuel prices, Biman received a positive response to its newly-introduced Dhaka-Toronto-Dhaka route, and the flights on this route were fully booked, claimed Mahbub.
"We want to run Biman in the right way. The flights of Biman are now departing at the right time. Those involved in irregularities would face legal action,” he further added.
“We are now working to ensure service of an international standard,” he said. “To ensure it, we asked the authorities concerned to remain alert, so that passengers don't face unnecessary hassles. Also, passengers must not suffer due to extra cautionary measures.”
As the prime minister directed to ensure necessary services for the passengers, the state minister and Biman’s managing director are visiting airports regularly to monitor the services, Mahbub added.
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He is hopeful that the sufferings of the passengers will cease to a large extent once the third terminal at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka starts operating in October 2023.
He also mentioned the government’s initiatives to develop the airports and cargo handling across the country.
Regarding developments in the tourism sector, Mahbub Ali said the sector had faced huge losses during the pandemic. After lifting the restrictions given for the pandemic, the sector has started seeing profits again. In the first three months following the lifting of restrictions, the sector had already posted profits of around Tk 6 crores.
BSRF President Tapan Bishwas presided over the programme while its General Secretary Masudul Hoque moderated.