No justification for splitting Biman into two: Abdul Muyeed Chowdhury
I do not see any justification for the recommendation made by the government’s task force committee formed to redefine the economic strategy, he says
Biman Bangladesh Airlines Board of Directors Chairman Abdul Muyeed Chowdhury said there is no justification for splitting Biman into two.
He said, "I do not see any justification for the recommendation made by the government's task force committee formed to redefine the economic strategy."
He made this statement in response to a question from journalists at an event at Biman's hangar complex at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka today (6 February).
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At a recent press conference, Planning Adviser Wahiduddin Mahmud labelled Biman Bangladesh Airlines as an "inefficient" institution and he suggested considering the proposal to manage this state-owned enterprise through foreign individuals or organisations to make it commercially profitable.
Regarding the proposal to split Biman into two, Abdul Muyeed Chowdhury said, "I believe there is no justification for this. Firstly, there is no issue with Biman. Tickets for Biman flights are now available online."
He said agents had previously engaged in various irregularities regarding Biman's tickets. "Now, the issues reported in newspapers are not related to our tickets. These involve tickets from other airlines. They sell tickets in bulk and then gradually release them at higher prices. This does not happen with our tickets."
When asked whether any initiatives were being taken to reform Biman, similar to the initiatives for public administration reform, he responded, "Today, we completed a C-check under our management. This has never happened before. It wouldn't have been possible without the collective efforts of everyone at Biman. The work that was done saved billions of taka. If Biman were not functioning properly, how would this have been achieved?"
Earlier, the Economic Strategy Realignment Taskforce recommended dividing Biman into two entities, with one part managed by Biman and the other to be established as a new airline, tentatively named Bangladesh Airways, using half of its assets.
