United Airways has sought a waiver of approximately Tk 500 crore, including surcharges, from the Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB).
However, the Ministry of Finance disagreed with the due waiver, in a letter signed by Deputy Secretary of Finance Department Chowdhury Ashraful Karim, on February 27.
United Airways first began commercial operations in 2007 by operating flights on domestic routes.
The flight operations of the company were running on a total of 36 routes between the country and abroad.
At one stage the company faced losses. Gradually the flight activities started to be limited. The company eventually went bankrupt and officially ceased operations in 2016.
The owner of United Air, Tasbirul Ahmed Chowdhury, is a fugitive in London and is believed to be the cause of the company’s bankruptcy.
There were 160,000 investors of United Air listed in the capital market, whose investment amount is about Tk 800 crores.
The Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) restructured the board of directors of United Airways in February last year to protect the interests of investors.
United Air has 10 aircraft. Eight of these are in the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport area of Dhaka.
Of the remaining two, one is in India, and the other is in Pakistan.
CAAB has been complaining that the safety of the airport area is being disrupted due to these old aircraft. It has taken the initiative to sell these aircraft at auction.
