Rashidul Hasan

International air traffic to and from Bangladesh hit the highest at least in four years in 2022, riding on pent-up demand for travel by migrant workers, non-resident Bangladeshis and the upper-middle-class segment.

Eighty-five percent of the country’s inland waterway vessels are running without licence. Although there are currently over 1 lakh of such vessels in the country, only 15,850 of them have come under registration. As a result, security remains lax, while the government keeps losing revenue.

Monirul Hasan, who works at a private organisation, had planned to go to his village home for Eid by air to avoid the hassle of a time-consuming journey by road and railway.

The government is spending around Tk 32,605 crore to upgrade the eight commercial airports in the country and these facilities may start delivering dividends from as soon as this October.

Sadia Ahmed, a first officer of Biman Bangladesh Airlines, who was suspended for forging her educational certificate, reportedly left the country without appearing before a Biman probe body.

At least eight Biman officials, who were involved in question paper leak of recruitment test last year, are still members of its examination and recruitment committees, said insiders of the national flag carrier.

Hackers are demanding $5 million in ransom for restoring Biman’s access to its server.

Bangladesh plans to purchase new commercial aircraft from Airbus, a Netherlands-based multinational aerospace company, in order to bolster the fleet of Biman Bangladesh Airlines and thereby tap into the growing aviation industry.

The Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh on Sunday asked all airlines, helicopter operators, and flying schools in the country to verify the academic certificates of their pilots and student pilots by May 31.

Even after extending the registration deadline four times, the quota for sending 1.27 lakh Bangladeshis for hajj is still to be met, prompting hajj agencies to fear losses.

Criticising Biman for fixing high airfare for hajj pilgrims this year, a parliamentary body yesterday asked the national flag carrier to cut it down to Tk 1.5 lakh from Tk 1.98 lakh.

Emirates SkyCargo, a concern of Emirates Group, plans to resume dedicated flights from Bangladesh if problems related to the infrastructure and facilities available at airports in Dhaka and Chattogram are resolved.

Even after extending the registration deadline two times, the government is still not getting the expected response for performing hajj, making hajj agencies concerned about not fulfilling the quota of sending 1.27 lakh Bangladeshis for the pilgrimage this year.

Emirates Flight Training Academy (EFTA) has created an opportunity for Bangladeshi students to train to be pilots there.

This year’s hajj package is the most expensive in Bangladesh’s history, thanks mainly to what travel agents and hajj agents say is Biman’s unusually high fare.

Jatiya Party in parliament criticises the government lightly for its mistakes. But outside, the party is highly critical of the government.

The cost of hajj package under the government and private hajj management is about Tk 7 lakh. But the actual cost will exceed Tk 8 to Tk 8.5 lakh when the cost of sacrificial animal, food and other miscellaneous costs are included.

The captain of a Biman flight was napping in the crew rest area, leaving the cockpit of a Boeing 777-300ER technically unmanned, when a passenger had a heart attack

In recent days, several media reports have focused on the possibility of talks between the ruling Awami League and the opposition BNP over holding an inclusive national election.

Biman Bangladesh Airlines has brought changes in two major posts, a move that will benefit passengers and make the national flag carrier more efficient, according to insiders.