Aviation sector to grow threefold in 15 years: Mahbub

State Minister of Civil Aviation and Tourism Md Mahbub Ali on Sunday said that Bangladesh’s aviation sector is projected to experience threefold growth in the coming 15 years.

Speaking as the chief guest at an event organised by US Bangla Airlines at the Pan Pacific Sonargaon hotel in Dhaka to celebrate the airlines’ sending cadet pilots to the US for training, the state minister emphasised that the rapid expansion of the country’s aviation industry is a result of timely infrastructural development, technical and human skill enhancement, and effective law and policy formulation.

Over the past decade, the Bangladesh aviation market has nearly doubled in size, he added.

Mahbub Ali said that in order to sustain this remarkable growth trajectory in the aviation sector and contribute to the nation’s economy, an increasing number of trained and skilled professionals will be required at all levels of the industry. The government is implementing various measures to meet the rising demand for skilled manpower.

Highlighting one such initiative, the Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh has introduced the “Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Next Generation Aviation Professionals (NGAP) Scholarship” to foster the development of trained women pilots, he added.

Mahbub Ali called on private stakeholders in addition to the government’s efforts to actively support the advancement of Bangladesh’s aviation industry.

He acknowledged that US Bangla Airlines’ endeavour to send trainee pilots to the US for higher education and skill development will undoubtedly play a crucial role in the growth of the aviation industry in Bangladesh.