The Civil Aviation Authority, Bangladesh (CAAB) is owed Tk 1223 crore by four private airlines. Out of these four airlines, three are currently closed. The amount the three closed airlines owe is over Tk 1192 crore. This information was divulged in the meeting of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism on Sunday (September 17, 2023) held at the Sangsad Bhaban. Also read: Irregularities in leasing Egypt Air planes: ACC questions 7 CAAB officials The Parliamentary Committee on Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism wanted to know how much money CAAB owes or is owed  in their dealings with domestic private airlines companies. CAAB gave a report in this regard in the parliamentary standing committee meeting today with its chairman RAM Obaidul Muktadir Chowdhury in the chair. According to the sources, CAAB in its report said that it is owed a total of Tk 1,222.98 crore by Regent Airways, Novo Air, United Airways and GMG Airlines. Among them, only Novo Air still flies. As of last May, two other private airlines, US Bangla and Air Astra, both of which are still in business, have no debt.  Also read: Civil Aviation Ministry asked to take action against CAAB officials for irregularities CAAB is owed more than Tk 408 crore by Regent Airways, while GMG Airlines owes more than Tk 396 crore. CAAB is owed Tk 388.97 crore by United Airways and from Novo Air it is owed Tk 29.48crore. After the meeting, a press release of the Parliament Secretariat informed that the parliamentary committee has recommended taking necessary measures to collect the money owed by the private airlines. Meanwhile, the report of the sub-committee on the investigation of the Hotel Intercontinental renovation project which was presented in the previous meeting of the committee was in the discussion list of today’s meeting. The report claimed that it was not needed to spend exorbitantly on the renovation works. Also read:  ACC finds 19 areas of corruption in Biman, Caab Government money has been unnecessarily spent for the benefit of certain people, the report said. According to the report, the rooms of 26 square meters has been increased to 40 square meters. As a result, the number of rooms was reduced to 226 from 272. The report claims that this was not necessary. Apart from this, the committee recommended to widen the road from Cox's Bazar airport to the city on an urgent basis and improve its beauty, maintain the cleanliness of the beach and implement the activities with mutual coordination. The committee members Mosharraf Hossain, Ashek Ullah, Syeda Rubina Akhtar, Kaniz Fatema Ahmed were present in the meeting.

Bangladesh’s first tourism master plan has not yet been formulated three months after deadline. Last year, State Minister for Civil Aviation and Tourism, Md Mahbub Ali, said that the tourism master plan will be completed by December 2022. “The formulation of the master plan will be completed in December this year and through its implementation, the country’s tourism sector will enter a new era,” he said on October 5, 2022, while speaking at a program on the occasion of World Tourism Day. As of April 2023, the tourism master plan, however, is yet to be finalized. Read More: Environment of Cox’s Bazar at stake: Out of over 500, only 4 hotels have own STP According to civil aviation and tourism ministry sources, the draft of the master plan is ready. It will be finalized once the stakeholders have given their approval. Kazi Wahidul Alam, editor of the Bangladesh Monitor (a travel trade publication), urged to form the master plan promptly and said, “Only building infrastructure isn’t enough for tourism development. A masterplan should be implemented soon.” “Issues like visa complication need to be addressed in the master plan,” he said. Shiblul Azam Koreshi, president of Tour Operators Association of Bangladesh (TOAB), said there is no timely tourism development plan like in other countries. Read More: FBCCI urges policy support in tourism development “The tourism industry operates in a bureaucratic and chaotic manner. There are no tourism professionals in government-related institutions,” he said. He called for expanding visa-on-arrival for tourists. Toufiq Rahman, secretary general of Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA), asked for better inter-ministerial coordination. State Minister for Civil Aviation and Tourism Md Mahbub Ali told UNB that the master plan will be implemented soon. Read More: Tourism banned indefinitely in Bandarban’s Rowangchhari and Ruma upazilas “We are taking stakeholders’ feedback. It will be finalized once we are done adjusting their suggestions,” he said. “If the tourism master plan is implemented, it will contribute 10 percent to the GDP,” he claimed. “We are considering appointing one of the five additional district commissioners in each district to oversee the tourism sector,” he said. He also stated that the government is working to make the visa application process easier for tourists. Read More: Bangladesh International Travel and Tourism Expo draws to close Bangladesh Tourism Board has signed a 30-year master plan agreement with the international consulting firm IPE Global to develop the country’s tourism sector. The master plan’s development began on January 1, 2020, and was to be completed by June 30, 2020. However, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, it was not completed on time and was postponed until December 2022. The total contract value, including VAT and AIT, is approximately Tk 28 crore 66 lakh.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Wednesday (March 22, 2023) stressed the need for preparing a roadmap aimed at making Bangladesh an aviation hub in the region. “Reaping on the dividend of our geo-strategic advantage, we should create a roadmap as to how we can make our country an aviation hub,” she said in a video statement aired in the inaugural session of the first edition of Aviation Summit in Dhaka. The Civil Aviation and Tourism Ministry, in collaboration with the UK and France, organised the Bangladesh Aviation Summit-2023 at a city hotel here. Read more: Working to ensure houses for all homeless people: PM Hasina Hasina said this summit is very significant for Bangladesh in the context of the South Asian nation’s aspiration to become an aviation hub in the region. She said just after achieving the membership of ICAO in 1973, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman undertook measures to turn Bangladesh into an ‘Aviation Hub’ to connect the East and the West, capitalizing the advantage of our geographical location. After the assassination of the Father of the Nation in 1975, the move came to a halt, she added. “We have undertaken several measures to support the development of an aviation hub. During the last one decade, we implemented a host of projects to upgrade our airports, airport security and ground handling,” said the prime minister. Read More: Bangladesh Monitor holds seminar to promote smart aviation Besides, a number of projects are running which include HSIA Expansion Project (Phase-I), Construction of General Aviation Hangar, Hangar Apron and Apron at North side of Fire Station at HSIA; Strengthening of Existing Runway and Taxiway at Shah Amanat International Airport, Chattogram; Development of Cox’s Bazar Airport (Phase-I), Cox’s Bazar Airport Runway Extension Project; Strengthening of Existing Runway and Taxiway at Osmani International Airport, Sylhet; and Enhancement of Capacity of Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh on Public Security at HSIA, she noted. The third terminal being constructed under HSIA Expansion Project (Phase-I), will create handling capacity of additional 12 million passengers and 4 million ton cargos, she said. “The transformation of our economy helped boost the travel opportunities for our people and open up new routes and markets for our airlines. When Bangladesh will turn into an Upper Middle Income Country by 2031 and a developed country by 2041, the aviation market will be further expanded,” she added. Read More: PM Hasina: Bangladesh to become aviation gateway between the east and the west PM Hasina said as the economy of Bangladesh has grown, so has the importance of air cargo. “The air cargo market of Bangladesh is rapidly growing at 8 percent per year – three times the world average. This underlines the strong demand for a dedicated national cargo operation in our country. With all of this in mind, there are areas where aviation actors need to do more,” she said. The PM asked relevant government organisations, the airlines and other stakeholders to carry out their responsibility to create conducive environment for the development and sustaining market both for passengers and cargo. Read More: Concerted efforts needed to solve aviation sector’s problems: Speakers “The government is going to introduce e-visa system which will also facilitate and expedite the flow of passengers visiting Bangladesh for business or tourism,” she said. Noting that the promising aviation industry requires skilled manpower, she said, “Our youth must have the opportunities to be trained to become pilots, aeronautics engineers, mechanics, crew members and much more.” She hoped that Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Aviation and Aerospace University, established by her government, would be able to cater the demand of skilled manpower in the country’s aviation and aerospace industry. Read More: Bangladesh, France keen to build partnership in aviation, space, aerospace technology She said the aviation industry has to lead by example in tackling climate change and strive to meet SDGs. De-carbonation and sustainable aviation fuel are topics which will require investments, concrete actions and the support from developed aviation nations. “The aviation partnership proposed by the UK and France, through Airbus, to support us in our journey is very crucial,” said the PM. Prime Minister’s Private Industries and Investment Advisor Salman F Rahman and State Minister for Civil Aviation and Tourism Md. Mahbub Ali were also present at the summit. Read More: Police aviation wing taking shape: Four ASPs complete basic course to be pilots.

Biman Bangladesh Airlines’ maiden flight on the Sylhet-London route took off on Sunday morning from the Osmani International Airport.

Biman Bangladesh Airlines has decided to reissue tickets to all the passengers who had brought return tickets on Dhaka-Dubai and Dhaka-Abu Dhabi routes but could not travel due to COVID-19 pandemic.

Finance minister AHM Mustafa Kamal on Thursday proposed an allocation of TK 3,688 crore for Civil Aviation and Tourism Ministry, up by Tk 271 crore from the last fiscal year’s revised allocation of Tk 3,417 crore,

Civil Aviation and Tourism Ministry Senior Secretary Mohibul Haque said that necessary steps would be taken to build trusts among tourists about health care and safety.

Two months into the coronavirus pandemic, the authorities concerned of all domestic and state-run airlines have suffered a loss of Tk 1,361 crore over the months of March and April following the suspension of all flights on both domestic and international routes.

Coronavirus outbreak in China, which has spread to two dozen countries, will negatively affect Bangladesh’s tourism and aviation sectors, a senior government official said Wednesday.