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Seven firms keen to spread wings beyond border

Cabinet decision allows private airlines to operate on foreign routes

INAM AHMED
At least seven companies have expressed their interest to get licences in the wake of the approval of a draft framework on allowing private airlines to fly on international routes.
The civil aviation ministry will initially allow three to four private airlines to operate, according to sources.
The cabinet made the major decision to allow private airlines on international routes on Monday. This puts in place a framework that would set the requirement for airlines to operate across border,
their capital structure, safety compliance needs and other criteria.
The seven applicants include GMG Airlines, Air Parabat, Bismillah Airlines, Eastwest Airlines, Basundhara Airlines and Aero Bengal.
Once the airlines are chosen, the Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB) will allocate them routes.
This is the first time that the national flag carrier Biman Bangladesh Airlines will taste limited competition from the private sector on international routes.
The private carriers will also operate on Biman's routes, according to civil aviation ministry sources. However, some popular routes like the Middle Eastern ones may be kept out of the reach of the private sector for the time being. Initially, Kolkata and Kathmandu routes may be opened.
CAAB will soon check the air service agreements (ASA) with different countries and decide on the new flight routes. The ASA dictates how many airlines operate how many flights to a country.
There are many countries like India and Thailand where Bangladesh can operate more than one airlines under agreements. Now only Biman is flying to these destinations.
On the other hand, Biman has many idle slots to destinations where it flies fewer times than its limit. For example, 40 per cent of the slots with India now lies unutilised. Doha is another destination with idle slots for Biman. These can be allocated to private airlines.
A Bangladeshi or a joint venture company having at least 51 per cent local ownership can apply for international operation licence. It has to have at least Tk 5 crore in paid up capital.
Technical details of the aircraft to be registered in Bangladesh have to be submitted to the CAAB. The licence fee has been fixed at Tk 50,000 while renewal fee has been set at Tk 2 lakh.