Biman
Biman’s flight launched for the residents of ‘Begumpara’: Mirza Fakhrul
BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir on Monday alleged that Biman Bangladesh Airlines is looking to launch its commercial flight on the Dhaka-Toronto route for the sole purpose of facilitating passengers who made second homes in Canada to siphon off money there.
“You must have seen a direct flight from Dhaka to Toronto (Canada) has been launched on a trial basis. The officials of Biman themselves yesterday (Sunday) said that they did not know the reason behind operating the flight as it won’t be a viable one in any way,” he said.
Speaking at a discussion, the BNP leader further said, “The flight has been initiated only for the convenience of those who travel to Begum Para or to give them the scope to siphon off money directly from Bangladesh in suitcases and trunks.”
‘Begumpara’ is the name given to capture the phenomenon of money laundered to Canada from Bangladesh, a large part of which ends up being invested in the Canadian real estate market in the names of the wives of corrupt individuals, or ‘begums’.
Association of Engineers Bangladesh, a pro-BNP platform of engineers, arranged the programme at the Jatiya Press Club.
READ: AL distorts history whenever it comes to power: Fakhrul
Earlier on March 26, Biman Bangladesh Airlines launched its first commercial flight on the Dhaka-Toronto route on a trial basis.
Depicting the sorry state of the country, Fakhrul said people are going through serious ordeals due to the unusual price hike of daily essentials caused by unbridled corruption. “Though people are earning money with their hard labour, lakhs of crores of taka have been siphoned off abroad.”
He said corruption and plundering have continued unabated as the current government has no accountability to the country's people. “No question has been raised in the parliament as people have no representation there.”
The BNP secretary general said there is no alternative to launching a united movement to get rid of the current situation of the country.
He urged different professional groups, including the engineers, to come forward to protect the country and its people from misrule. “It is the responsibility of all, not just of political parties, to save the country. Professionals have a big role to play, as they did in the past. ”
Fakhrul also called upon BNP leaders and activists to work for encouraging people to take to the streets to free their party chairperson Khaleda Zia and restore democracy.
Biman hopes to launch regular Dhaka-Toronto commercial flights from June
Biman Bangladesh Airlines is likely to launch regular commercial flights on the Dhaka-Toronto route, three days a week, from next June, said State Minister for Civil Aviation and Tourism Mahbub Ali Thursday.
Dhaka-Toronto direct flight was a long-standing demand of Bangladeshi expatriates living in Canada, he added while speaking with the media at a city hotel.
Canadian High Commissioner to Bangladesh Lily Nicholas and Air Commodore (Retd) Md Mahbub Jahan Khan, director (corporate planning and training) of Biman, were also present.
Read: Biman's Dhaka-Toronto route tickets up for sale
Marking Independence Day, Biman will operate a round trip flight between Dhaka and Toronto on March 26. The round trip is an experimental commercial flight. Tickets went on sale on March 19.
Biman to resume online ticket sale from Feb 27
Biman Bangladesh Airlines will resume its online ticket sale from February 27.
Biman is going to restart services including online ticketing, booking, check-in, web service on February 27 through new Passenger Service Solution (PSS) "SABRE" for the convenience of passengers, said a media release.
Now Biman passengers will again be able to enjoy all the facilities including online ticket purchase from the airline's website.
Read: Biman's golden jubilee: Hasina unveils special postage stamp
For transferring information from the existing service solution SITA to SABRE, ticket booking/reservation and ticket issuing related services will remain closed from 3:45 pm on February 26 to 3 am on February 27, added the release.
From the morning of February 27, all the sales centres of the airline, commercial website (www.biman-airlines.com), air call centre (019909977997) and normal operation of reservation and ticketing through its authorised sales agent will be automatically operational.
Biman guard, passenger held with gold worth Tk2.25 crore at Dhaka airport
Police detained two people, including a security guard of Biman Bangladesh Airlines, with 30 gold bars worth Tk2.25 crore at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport Thursday evening.
The detainees are security guard Ibrahim Khalil and Kamal Uddin, a passenger who arrived at the airport on a Biman flight from Saudi Arabia's Riyadh.
The Airport Armed Police Battalion first detained Ibrahim due to his suspicious movement; he handed gold bars, weighing around 3.5kg, from inside his jacket.
Kamal, who carried the gold to the airport, was held based on the information given by Ibrahim, said Ziaul Haque, additional superintendent (media) of the Airport Armed Police.
"Noakhali's Ibrahim was supposed to get Tk1.95 lakh to take the gold bars out of the airport after Feni's Kamal brought the precious metal there. A case will be filed against them at Airport Police Station," he added.
Biman to resume Ctg-Sylhet-Ctg flights from Jan 8
National flag carrier Biman Bangladesh Airlines will resume its domestic flights on Chattogram-Sylhet-Chattogram route from January 8.
A Biman press release on Monday said the decision was taken considering the increasing passenger demands and to increase connectivity between the internal destinations.
A BG 511 aircraft will take off from Chattogram Shah Amanat International Airport at 11:15 am every Saturday, Tuesday and will reach Sylhet at 12:35 pm.
Also read: Biman to introduce flights with Maldives: Hasina
A BG 512 aircraft will take off every Saturday, Tuesday at 1 pm from Sylhet Osmani International Airport and will reach Chattogram at 2:20 pm, said the press release.
Passengers will be able to buy tickets from its sales offices, sales centres at Biman head office located at Balaka and other licensed travel agencies. The passengers can also contact Biman call centre on 01990997997 numbers for any queries.
Also read: Biman increases number of fights to Delhi and Kolkata
Biman to resume Bangkok flights from Dec 2
Biman Bangladesh Airlines is set to resume operations on its Dhaka-Bangkok-Dhaka route from December 2.The flight will leave Dhaka for Bangkok twice a week at 11:30am on Thursdays and Sundays.The return flight will depart Bangkok every Thursday and Sunday at 4:15 pm local time (6.15pm in Dhaka).Passengers can collect tickets from any sales office of Biman, sales center head office in Balakaand authorized sales centers.Passengers can travel to Bangkok at least 14 days after receiving the full dose of the Covid-19 vaccine recognized by the Thai authorities. Passengers must register for ‘Thailand Pass’ from the website: https://tp.consular.go.th/Passengers willing to travel to Thailand must have Covid test and a negative certificate within a maximum of 72 hours before departure. After reaching the country, they will have to be tested again.
READ: Biman increases number of fights to Delhi and Kolkata
Passengers will be able to visit the designated tourist destinations only if their Covid test reports are negative after their arrival in Thailand.Passengers are not required to stay in the hotel quarantine but they will be required to stay in the sandbox area (designated tourist centers) for 7 days under the 'sandbox program' by the Thai authorities.
READ: Biman resumes direct flights to Abu DhabiPassengers will need to make a 7-day reservation at an SHA + hotel recognized by Thailand's tourism authority in the sandbox area and they must have insurance coverage of USD 50,000. SHA is a certificate given by the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) to hotels and services that meet pandemic-level safety and health standards
Biman to resume Dhaka-New York flights soon: Momen
Biman Bangladesh Airlines will resume its direct flights between Dhaka and New York soon, Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen has said.
The flight services between the two cities have remained suspended since July 2006.
The Foreign Minister expressed his optimism while briefing reporters at Lotte New York Palace on Monday on the Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's participation at different events on the sidelines of the 76th session of the UN General Assembly.
Read: Biman to restart Delhi, Kolkata flights within air bubble Sep 5
“Our Prime Minister came to New York by an aircraft of Biman yesterday (Sunday)…. Now our Biman has come here. Our expectation is that the operations of Biman would begin on this route in the near future,” he said.
The Foreign Minister said that Bangladesh also signed an agreement with the Federation Aviation Authority (of the US)."This is why, we can be optimistic."
The Prime Minister arrived in New York on Sunday by a VVIP chartered aircraft of the national flag carrier Biman, raising the image of Bangladesh to a new height.
Dr Momen said the entire entourage of the Prime Minister was given honour at the airport and faced no immigration hassle. All the entourage members left by cars directly from the airport. "Our prestige has increased due to Sheikh Hasina,” he added.
Read:Biman to resume flights to Delhi and Kolkata from Aug 22
He said the flight operations on the Dhaka-New York route were suspended many years ago. "Now the fleet of Biman has got expanded significantly with the addition of many new and latest aircraft, after Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina came to power."
“The good news is that they allowed Biman (to land at John F Kennedy Airport, New York). So, I hope that the operations of Biman flights would start in the near future, though we don’t know the exact date,” he said.
“If flights resume on this route of Biman, Bangladeshis living in the US will be very glad,” said the Foreign Minister.
Biman’s ailing pilot will get necessary treatment, says state minister
State Minister for Civil Aviation and Tourism Mohammad Mahbub Ali has said that necessary assistance would be provided to ensure better medical care for the ailing pilot of Biman Bangladesh Airlines, Captain Nowshad Ataul Qayum.
The state minister said this on Saturday while talking to the president of Bangladesh Pilots Association, Captain Mahbubur Rahman over phone.
He further said that skilled pilots like Captain Nowshad are the assets of an organization. He has shown his skills at different times of his career.
READ: Pilot suffers heart attack; Biman flight makes emergency landing in India
“We are all worried that he suddenly fell ill on the way back to Dhaka on 27 August from Muscat in Oman. His treatment is being monitored round the clock by the Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism and the Biman Bangladesh Airlines,” he said.
He also requested everyone to pray for his speedy recovery.
READ: Emergency landing of Biman flight: Passengers safely back in Dhaka
On August 27, Biman’s flight BG022 with 124 passengers made an emergency landing in the Indian city of Nagpur after Captain Nowshad fell sick, while piloting the plane from Muskat to Dhaka. The pilot was later admitted to a hospital in Nagpur where he has been undergoing treatment.
Pilot suffers heart attack; Biman flight makes emergency landing in India
A Dhaka-bound Biman Bangladesh passenger flight made an emergency landing at an airport in India Friday after its pilot suffered a heart attack mid-air, officials said.
The aircraft, a Boeing 737-8, was carrying 126 passengers from Muscat.
An aviation official told the media the plane was near the central state of Chhattisgarh's capital Raipur when its co-pilot contacted the air traffic controller in the eastern city of Kolkata for an emergency landing.
READ: Biman flight makes emergency landing at Dhaka airport
"The Kolkata ATC, in turn, asked the co-pilot to land at the nearest airport. Around 11.40 am, the passenger plane safely landed at Nagpur airport in the western state of Maharashtra," the official told the media.
The pilot was soon rushed to a nearby hospital, the official added.
READ: Biman aircraft makes emergency landing in Chattogram
Biman temporarily closes online ticketing
Online ticketing services of Biman Bangladesh Airlines will temporarily remain closed as the service provider failed to operate properly, a media release said Wednesday.
The domestic service provider failed to operate the ticketing services properly due to which the authorities decided to close online ticketing, said a release from Biman.
Read: Biman to start Syedpur-Cox's Bazar flight
In 2019, Biman Bangladesh Airlines, hired an organization to sell tickets online on a temporary basis under a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to encourage domestic service providers. But the organization failed again and again, at various stages, in the full implementation of the expected activities of the airline. It provided services in an unethical manner and tried to create confusion among the passengers.
Biman is going to ensure the provision of advanced online services through a world recognized service provider soon, the release also said.
Read: Biman to operate domestic flights from July 15 to July 22
However, the ongoing process of purchasing, changing and refunding tickets for all routes of Biman through all domestic and foreign sales offices of Biman, authorized travel agencies and Biman call centers would continue.
In addition, the sales centre of Biman's head office in Balaka would remain open 24 hours a day from Thursday to provide services to the passengers.