Editorial
Biman flight suspension on five routes
It will worsen conditions for carrier
Bangladesh Biman has been ailing for as long as anyone can remember. It has more often than not failed to maintain its flight schedule; it has broken down on the way; and tales of corruption and malfeasance among those whose job is to keep it going have been public knowledge over the years. The fact that many people, including very large numbers of Bangladeshis, prefer foreign airlines to the national carrier when they travel abroad has been a recurrent embarrassment for Biman. Add to that the conditions of many of the aircraft in Biman's fleet. It certainly goes to the credit of Biman pilots that they have so far managed to fly these aircraft without any serious accident happening.
And just when we need Biman to reinvigorate itself, especially on international routes, the authorities have decided that flights to five international destinations will remain suspended from September 17 to November 30. Deep cuts will be made on other routes as well. The move, as we have been informed, has been necessitated by the forthcoming Hajj. During the period in question, Biman will be busy carrying Hajj passengers to Saudi Arabia and back. That our intending pilgrims to Makkah must perform Hajj in a disciplined, uninterrupted manner goes without saying. But to have so many regular Biman flights taken off the schedule, thereby affecting those who plan to use Biman on their travels is a new low touched in the airline's profile. At a time when Biman needs to gain as many passengers as it can and so turn itself into a viable carrier, the decision to suspend flights on the Hong Kong, Karachi, Delhi, Manchester and Milan routes for two and a half months is nothing short of the carrier giving itself a big wound. It is not merely that in this long period people intending to travel by Biman will suffer. There is something worse, which is that when this two-and-a-half month flight suspension ends, there is the very real possibility of Biman discovering that it has lost a good number of passengers during the period.
Such a planning disaster should be avoided in future.
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