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Bangladesh’s aviation sector. Over the decades, CAAB has consistently worked in alignment with international standards, upholding the principles of the Chicago Convention and ICAO’s Standards and Recommended Practices (SARPs).

2. It is noted with deep concern and dismay that CAAB observes a series of recent publications in a well-circulated national daily “The Daily Star” containing misperception on aviation regulations and practices. Such reporting not only threatens to mislead the public but also severely undermines the reputation of Bangladesh’s civil aviation system on the international stage. This rejoinder is issued to formally address these repeated misrepresentations and to reaffirm CAAB’s unwavering commitment to professionalism, transparency, and international obligations.

3. The report claimed in the first part of the news “Time after time, the internal safety department of the Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh uncovered irregularities in pilot licensing and raised concerns about aviation safety, only to be overridden by the civil aviation’s higher authorities”. The fact is that CAAB conducts investigations as routine affair in case of any reported violation of regulations and resolves the issue as per recommendation of the investigation. There are no instances that CAAB did not act on the recommendations of any investigations. Therefore, the claim made in the report “Only to be overridden by civil aviation’s higher authority” is not valid.

4. Conflict of interest The report on “Chowdhury Md Zia UI Kabir” claims “Zia signed his own licence, he was the flight safety regulator charged with ensuring that pilot licences were compliant, exposing a blatant conflict of interest” claims that there was conflict of interest. The CAAB procedure of issuance of license involves detailed steps conducted by various personnel and needs to be approved by the Chairman, CAAB. As the then Director of FS&R division, Chowdhury Md Zia UI Kabir was the authorized person to sign on all licenses on behalf of the Chairman. As such there was no conflict of interest.

5. No Experience It is general practice across the aviation world, the experience of higher or similar category aircraft is considered while designating some pilot as instructor of a rare type aircraft. The report on “Captain Kabir-ul-Alam” claims “Captain Kabir-ul-Alam was allowed to perform an exam flight to be certified as a “Designated Check Pilot” for an aircraft called Fokker-50, a CAAB letter from November 5, 2023, shows.” which was a non-conformance with ICAO and CAAB regulations. The fact is that the said Captain Kabir-ul-Alam was “Authorized” as DCP-D (Designated Check Pilot for Flight Simulator Training Devices or FSTD) for Fokker 27 MK 50 FSTD. Captain Kabir-ul-Alam fulfilled the prerequisites of CAAB for designating him as SFI (Synthetic Flight Instructor) for Fokker 27 MK 50. He was then authorized as DCP-D on the said aircraft considering his substantial experience as instructor and check pilot. No violation of rules was committed in the said authorization.

6. False flying records: The case of “Captain Nuruddin Al Masood” is a sub judice matter.

7. Less than Half Qualified The report on “Captain Abdur Rahman Akand” claims “But before being certified as an ATPL, Akand flew only 154.35 hours - less than a third required for such a sophisticated licence, according to the documents he submitted to CAAB as part of the regulator’s internal inquiry”. The related ICAO Regulation ICAO Annex-1 para 2.6.3.1.1.1 a says “500 hours as pilot-in-command under supervision or 250 hours, either as pilot-in-command, or made up by not less than 70 hours as pilot-in-command and the necessary additional flight time as pilot-in-command under supervision”. Captain Abdur Rahman Akand had logged more than 500 hours as Pilot-in-command under supervision and a grand total of 4,000 hours plus as pilot before applying for the ATPL. Therefore, he definitely had fulfilled the requirements and there was no violation of lCAO and CAAB regulations.

8. a. Rules Overlooked (CPL Issue) The report claims “10 students from Galaxy seeking CPLs were required to fly 300nm on the Raishahi-Saidpur-Jashore-Raishahi route and make full stops in the transit airports. The students instead flew from Raishahi to Saidpur and then went back to Raishahi, and did the same with Jashore”. Flying via Rajshahi for refueling purposes is an essential requirement when no other nearby aerodromes are available to continue flying the next route. Here the requirements of compliance “full-stop landings at two different aerodromes” were fulfilled. The 300 NM cross-country flights being conducted by the Flying Schools are in full compliance with CAR 84 and ANO 1.

b. Rules Overlooked (PPL Issue) The report claims “The students flying the 150nm “solo flights” also had their teachers onboard with them even though this was supposed to be unsupervised flights, meaning they flew their exam flight with help, documents show.” ICAO permits flight by a student pilot without a licence, rating or endorsement, by stating “solo flight time under the supervision of an authorized flight instructor”. Both CAR 84 and ANO 1 have promulgated the same. The 150 NM cross­country flights conducted by the flying schools are in full compliance with CAR 84 and ANO 1.

However, as conflicting information received from Galaxy Flying Academy and Bangladesh Flying Academy & General Aviation, CAAB is scrutinizing the issue in view of existing rules and regulations. Should there be any non-conformance found, CAAB will take action as per regulation.

09. Suspicious service CAAB took initiative to automate the pilot licensing exam system. Considering the high cost involved with foreign software company, CAAB started computer­based exam system designed by local vendor. The exam was controlled by CAAB personnel. CAAB never received any complain regarding the computer-based exam system. However, the administrative process to acquiring this software was not completed for various reasons. This matter is under scrutinization. Mentionable, CAAB initiated the process to acquire new software with upgraded features.

10. Selective defamation of individuals in support a group with vested interest

a. The report deliberately misled the readers by giving references as fragments without the full context and its explanatory notes.

b. The report selectively tried to defame some group of personnel with false allegation basing on self-interpretation of related rules and regulations. It hints to the possibility of serving the purpose of some groups having vested interest.

c. The report deliberately undermined the credibility of the pilot community of the civil aviation industry of Bangladesh.

11. Undermining Reform in Bangladesh’s Aviation Sector Although CAAB has made significant efforts to modernize its operations, align with international standards, and promote transparency, its progress has been consistently challenged by entrenched interest groups. These groups, driven by a desire to preserve non-transparent practices and retain undue influence within the aviation sector, have actively attempted to obstruct reforms intended to strengthen institutional capacity and accountability. Ironically, these efforts to tarnish CAAB’s reputation have intensified as the authority accelerates its compliance with international aviation standards. The report bears the trace of the same intention and surely detrimental not only to the growth of aviation sector of Bangladesh but also the credibility of Bangladesh’s Civil Aviation sector across the globe.

12. In view of the above, the Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB) strongly condemns the continued dissemination of unfounded and misleading reports by “The Daily Star”. These actions not only misrepresent the integrity and professionalism of CAAB, but also pose a serious threat to public trust, aviation stakeholder confidence, and Bangladesh’s international standing as a responsible Member State of ICAO.

13. CAAB urges all concerned media platforms to act with responsibility and refrain from publishing speculative or unverified information relating to civil aviation. Any attempts to undermine the credibility of CAAB without substantiated evidence will be viewed as a direct affront to the nation’s strategic interests and regulatory sovereignty in the aviation sector.

14. CAAB remains open to constructive dialogue, transparency and accountability; but will not hesitate to take lawful and appropriate measures to safeguard its institutional dignity and to uphold the commitments of Bangladesh to lCAO as per the Chicago Convention.

Our Reply

According to CAAB’s own inquiry, the training process of at least 142 pilots, many of whom received their licences over the last two years, were not up to the mark. Many did not complete the required flying hours or the crucial solo flight. At least two falsified their flight records. And CAAB knew all of these, but The Daily Star failed to obtain any records or any official statement that any of these licencees faced any action.

The Daily Star specifically narrated the details of a meeting held on May 21, 2024, by the licencing head of that time, where multiple objections from CAAB’s own safety experts were overridden to grant licences to two pilots who did not complete their exam flight as per the pre-requisites outlined by aviation rules. The Daily Star has verified the discussion of the meeting, and the resultant decision taken, using the meeting minutes itself.

As regards the conflict of interest of Chowdhury Md Zia UI Kabir signing his own Air Transport Pilot Licence, the highest level of certification for a pilot, our report, citing the CAAB chairman, mentioned that the CAAB chief approves licences before they are signed by a designated official.

We are strained to believe that the head of the organisation is responsible for checking every single flight log of every single pilot applying for a licence, since there is a fully-staffed department dedicated to it. At that time Zia signed his own ATPL licence in 2018, he was the head of that department. While working on the report, The Daily Star did not find any guidelines in CAAB regarding what alternate steps are to be followed if the head of that department wants to apply for a licence to ensure due diligence.

The rejoinder also states that no rules were violated in authorising Captain Kazi Kabirul Alam to become a check pilot of a flight he never flew.

The Daily Star reviewed CAAB’s guidelines on the designation of DCP-D and found that the check pilot must “Hold (or held) ATPL with instrument rating (as applicable) endorsed on type.” In addition, the pilot must “have accumulated a minimum of 1,000 hours pilot-in-command of which minimum 750 hours pilot-in-command on type.”

According to CAAB’s own Air Navigation Order, Fokker 27 MK 50 is a higher category aircraft, and a fully different aircraft from the plane Kabirul has experience in, which is Fokker 27.

The rejoinder stated that Captain Abdur Rahman Akand had fulfilled the requirements to get his ATPL and there was no violation of ICAO and CAAB regulations.

The Daily Star has reviewed the same law that CAAB cites in its rejoinder and found that even a Commercial Pilot Licence (CPL), the licence a pilot is required to take before getting the ATPL, cannot be issued with 26.5 hours pilot-in-command time, because ICAO Annex-1 in para 2.4.3.1 says that the applicant shall have completed not less than 100 hours as pilot-in-command or, in the case of a course of approved training, 70 hours as pilot-in-command.

The rejoinder said the 300 NM cross-country flights being conducted by the two flying schools are in full compliance with Civil Aviation Rules, 1984 and Air Navigation Order.

The two aerodromes in which the students were supposed to stop are Jashore and Saidpur. It would be highly concerning if there are no refuelling facilities available at Jashore and Saidpur airports, as the rejoinder suggests, since these are two fully functional airports serving dozens of commercial flights each day.

The rejoinder said the 150 NM cross country flights conducted by the flying schools are in full compliance with Civil Aviation Rules, 1984 and Air Navigation Order. It also said that CAAB is scrutinising the issue in view of existing rules and regulations. Should there be any non-conformance found, CAAB will take action as per regulation.”

The Civil Aviation Rules, 1984 and Air Navigation Order state that students flying with an instructor on board cannot log that flight as a solo flight. The flights then have to be categorised as “dual” or “solo under supervision”, as the case may be.

The rejoinder said the pilot licencing exams are controlled by CAAB personnel and not any external vendor.

The Daily Star has included in its report an interview with the “vendor” in question who had said on the record that CAAB does not have control over the data or the source code.

The rejoinder made vague, unsubstantiated accusations about The Daily Star serving vested groups in achieving their goals. The Daily Star neither serves the interests, nor has any liaison with any of these unidentified groups that CAAB mentions in its rejoinder. The Daily Star rejects these vague accusations, and has shown the merits of the points it made in its reports.