Aircraft shortage, mechanical glitches force it to reduce number of flights
Biman Bangladesh Airlines faces severe backlog of flights on international routes for the last couple of weeks for shortage of aircraft and frequent technical glitches in some of its planes.
The situation got so worse that Biman authorities had to reduce the number of flights on some international routes. They even had to delay a few international flights up to 13 hours on several routes in the last week, said Biman officials.
Every delay in flights causes financial loss to Biman, as the national carrier has to spend a handsome amount on food and accommodation for the passengers of delayed flights.
“The situation improved to an extent following the reduction in number of flights. But Biman still has to delay some of its international flights for a couple of hours,” said a Biman official asking anonymity.
Biman Managing Director Muhammad Zakiul Islam told The Daily Star that they have rearranged flights by cutting down their numbers on a few international routes. He did not tell how many flights they have dropped so far.
Biman operates flights to 19 destinations across the globe with a fleet of 11 aircraft, nine of which fly on international routes.
Of the nine aircraft, a DC- 10 30 and an Airbus are now going through extensive overhaul.
Biman’s flight control department has been struggling to maintain flight schedule since the two wide-body aircraft were grounded more than a month ago, said Biman officials.
It got worse, as three other DC-10 aircraft had to be grounded for nearly five hours for maintenance checks after long-haul flights several days back. Usually it takes two hours to complete such check.
Another airbus had been grounded for five days for technical problems a few days ago, sources said.
Asking not to be named, another Biman official said a Biman flight to Muscat from Dhaka was supposed to take off at 11:00pm on July 8, but the flight left the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport at noon the next day.
Another flight to Abu Dhabi from Chittagong, scheduled to leave in the evening on July 9, finally took off at 2:45pm the next day, said the official.
Biman authorities could not confirm when the situation will improve, as the two wide-body aircraft are still going through extensive overhaul.
The DC 10 aircraft that was supposed to be ready to fly by mid-May was taken to a hangar for extensive overhaul on April 16. But the repair is yet to be completed even after three months.
The airbus, which was supposed to join the fleet on July 2, has been undergoing repair in Singapore since May 24, said another Biman official asking not to be named.
-With The Daily Star input
