Biman Bangladesh Airlines has again changed its decision on technical landing facility in a third country for its ambitious Dhaka-Toronto route – without a feasibility study yet another time, a move termed “unprofessional” by aviation experts.
The national flag carrier has decided to have a technical landing in Istanbul, instead of Manchester Airport – that too chosen without a thorough assessment, due to concerns over the safety of the passengers and financial risk of the airlines in Manchester.
Talking to Dhaka Tribune on Wednesday, Abu Saleh Mostafa Kamal, managing director and CEO of Biman, said: "We’ve learned that, after landing in Manchester, luggage will be needed to be unloaded and then the passengers will be taken from one terminal to another for security checks. Only then, they will be able to board the connecting flight. It’ll increase both time and cost.
“So, we’ve sought landing permission from Istanbul airport authorities.”
The Biman boss declined to comment on why they were making decisions without a formal feasibility study. He, however, announced that a committee had been working to launch a passenger flight on June 28.
Biman Planning Director Mahbub Jahan Khan said Biman has already got a slot in Istanbul and hopes to secure landing permission soon after the ground handling agreement.
In March, Biman declared its plan to carry at least 1,500 passengers a week and 6,000 each month on the Dhaka-Torrent route with a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner, ahead of the 50-year-celebration of diplomatic relations between the two countries.
“By analyzing the market and international routes, we have decided to make direct flights because such flights will be profitable,” the Biman MD said on March 25.
Even before the “test flight” left Dhaka on March 26, officials were confident about launching the direct flights from June, based on an assessment done through secondary sources.
On March 26, dozens of government officials, some with families in tow, travelled to Toronto for free on the “test flight” that cost around Tk10 crore. They were hopeful of making profits from the direct flights also on March 31.
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But after two days, the national carrier backtracked and officials said that it would not operate direct flights considering the refueling issue. They found that Biman would need a stopover in a European or Asian country to refuel and carry enough passengers to be viable.
That was the first time Biman launched a formal feasibility study, on April 2, with its Director (Flight Operations) Capt ABM Ismail as the head of the four-strong committee.
Later, the committee recommended a stopover in Manchester airport, citing many reasons but without conducting any assessment.
What the experts say
Aviation expert ATM Nazrul Islam said that operating flights on the Dhaka-Toronto route would be challenging for the national flag carrier.
“It’ll be tough to make a handsome profit if the operations can’t be handled properly,” he told Dhaka Tribune.
Former Biman board member Kazi Wahidul Alam expressed resentment and described it as “unprofessional” as the authorities continued to change their plans and decisions without conducting a proper feasibility study.
“Biman should use a diplomatic channel between two countries to secure the fifth freedom facility. It’ll help them make the route commercially viable,” he told Dhaka Tribune.
