Bangladesh Biman yesterday cancelled a Dhaka-Chittagong flight due to shortage of pilots, officials said.
Meanwhile, the airline served show-cause notices to its four pilots for holding a press conference last week defying a directive of the authority.
A number of scheduled flights of the national carrier were disrupted yesterday on the third day of the protest programme of Bangladesh Pilots’ Association (BAPA).
Biman insiders said the flight schedules were disrupted as many pilots complained of illness.
Due to short of pilots, a Kathmandu-bound flight, which was scheduled to take off at 2:45 pm, was delayed for about two and half hours.
A Dhaka-Bahrain-Kuwait flight was delayed for more than two hours as the carrier failed to manage its pilots.
Biman was forced to line up another DC-10 to carry Kuala Lumpur-bound passengers as designated pilots complained of illness, insiders said.
The pilots began their protest on October 22 against the decision to enhance the retirement age of pilots from 57 to 62 years leaving them conditionally out of insurance and rehabilitation benefits during the period.
Referring to an agreement between BAPA and Biman, pilots now say that they would not fly more than 70 hours a month and more than two consecutive nights.
They also stick to their decision of enjoying eight holidays a month.
But the Biman records show that pilots usually fly less than 70 hours a month.
Biman insiders fear if the protest continues, the national carrier, already short of pilots, will be forced to cancel many flights in the coming days.
Biman management yesterday issued show-cause notices to four pilots for disobeying its order of not holding press conference on the issue of retirement age enhancement, as the matter was under the trial of the Supreme Court.
The four pilots are BAPA acting president Captain Zakir Hussain, its general secretary Captain MA Basit Mahtab, BAPA executive committee member first officer Shahrier M Farazi and its member Captain AM Maqsood Ahmed.
