Improve service, PM asks Biman [ Tritiyo Matra News ]

Improve service, PM asks Biman

Local January 13, 2016

Prime minister Sheikh Hasina on Tuesday said the government was working to improve security arrangement at the airports, announcing that more equipment would be purchased to this end.
‘We have already paid attention to security improvement [of airports]…We held meetings to this end. New equipment will be purchased,’ she told a function organised by the national flag carrier marking the induction of two brand new Boeing 737-800 to its fleet.
The two Boeing 737-800 aircrafts were named Meghdoot and Mayurpankhi by the prime minster.
She also urged the Biman Bangladesh Airlines to improve flight services, especially to maintain flight schedules.
‘Biman is being modernised. Now, it’s your job to protect it and to make the national carrier profitable,’ Hasina said explaining how the airlines had faced ‘terrible’ situation during Bangladesh National Party-led government.
Hasina recalled the contribution of her father, country’s founding president Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, and her to the national flag carrier in their respective tenures.
She said that everybody wants to travel by Biman, so ‘improve services and maintain schedules so that none face any trouble.’
Hasina highlighted the ongoing modernisation process in her latest tenure and said apart from passenger service, the Biman needed to launch cargo services.
Planning for the third terminal was under consideration to expand mobility in the Dhaka airport, the prime minister said, adding, ‘We have to give importance to geo-strategic locations of our country as bridge between east and west.’
She said modernisations of international airports in Chittagong and Sylhet were underway apart from upgrading Cox’s Bazar airport to an international airport.
‘We want to improve Syedpur [domestic] airport to provide regional services to maintain air services with the neighbouring countries,’ she said.
Hasina repeatedly urged the Biman management and its staff to maintain services.
Addressing the function, Biman’s acting managing director and chief executive officer Asaduzzman admitted that they could not maintain flight schedule as per the expectation.
He told the function the national flag carrier with its 14 aircraft currently was operation 15 international and seven domestic routes.
He said the Biman was planning to launch flight operation to Narita (Japan) later in this year.
Chairman of the Biman’s board of directors Jamal Uddin Ahmed announced that Biman was going to launch its operation on Dhaka-Male (Maldives), Dhaka-Canton (China) and Dhaka-Colombo (Sri Lanka) by April.
Biman would also resume its flight to Hong Kong and New Delhi shortly, he added, assuring that flight services and schedule would be taken to certain standard.
Civil aviation and tourism minister Rashed Khan Menon, speaking a special guest, also said they were working to improve ground services.
He also took the credits for resumption of flights on seven domestic routes.
Talking to New Age, Menon said they approached the US authorities concerned to resume Dhaka-New York flight but said it was not sure when Bangladesh would be allowed to operate the direct flight.
Representative from Boeing corporation and US embassy in Dhaka also spoke in the function.