Saturday, May 04, 2024
Biman Bangladesh Airlines has procured nearly Tk 1,000 crore worth of equipment to increase its ground handling capability in line with the flight operation capacity of the newly built third terminal of Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport (HSIA) in Dhaka.
“Currently, we are handling 160 flights daily. With this new procurement, now Biman is able to provide uninterrupted best ground handling service to 200 to 240 daily flights,” Biman Managing Director and CEO Shafiul Azim told reporters.
The Biman chief interacted with the journalists after attending an event, titled “Ground Equipment Showcasing 2024 and New Equipment Commissioning”, at the runway of HSIA on Thursday, reports BSS.
Apart from its own flights, the national flag carrier has been operating ground handling works solely for all international airlines in all airports of the country with a turnover of Tk 1,000-1,200 crore annually.
Under the procurement, around 3,600 motorised and non-motorised pieces of equipment have been added to Biman’s Ground Support Equipment (GSE) department in the past one year.
The Biman chief said 70 per cent of equipment has already added to Biman while the rest will be handed over in next three months.
Azim said Biman is committed to ensure world class best ground handling services to any airlines. “Today’s showcase is the appropriate answers to those who raised question about Biman’s capability of ground handling service. Now Biman has the capacity to serve two, three large terminals like the new third terminal,” he added.
He said Biman’s capacity of ground handling depends on available facilities of the airports.
Replying a question, Azim said Biman has the solo right in providing ground handling service as it has that capacity and like Biman, national flag carriers of other countries also enjoy such privilege in their respective countries.
He said if the ground handling service is awarded to any foreign company, it may create security hazard as HSIA is a Key Point Installation (KPI).
Earlier, Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB) Chairman Air Vice Marshal M Mafidur Rahman said that Japan has shown interest in getting the ground handling work for the third terminal.
Biman’s GSE department has provided ground handling services to 57,200 flights in 2023 while it is ready to serve the HSIA’s third terminal with 600 manpower, and 376 motorised and 4,000 non-motorised pieces of equipment, said Biman officials.
On Thursday morning, Biman celebrated its 52nd anniversary by chalking out different programmes at its headquarters at Balaka in the capital.
The day’s programme started with placing wreath at the portrait of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman on the Balaka premises.
After that, the national flag carrier organised a discussion followed by ‘Pitha Utsab’ and a cultural show.
Biman Board of Directors Chairman Mostafa Kamal Uddin, Civil Aviation and Tourism Secretary Md Mokammel Hossian and Biman MD Azim addressed the event.
Immediately after the independence, Biman started its journey on January 4, 1972, with a DC-3 aircraft as Bangladesh’s national airline under the Bangladesh Biman Ordinance.
With this DC-3 aircraft, the national flag carrier operated its first flight on February 4, 1972, from Dhaka to Chattogram and then on to Sylhet, Jashore and Ishwardi.
On March 4, 1972, Biman spread its wings to international destinations with a weekly flight to London using a Boeing 707 chartered from British Caledonian.
At present, the total number of aircraft in the fleet is 21. Of these, four are Boeing 777-300 ER, four are Boeing 787-8, two are Boeing 787-9, six are Boeing 737 and five are Dash 8-400 aircraft.
