The Parliamentary Standing Committee on the Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism has summoned the officials who were involved with taking lease of two Boeing 777-200 aircraft to be present in its next meeting as Biman Bangladesh Airlines has faced a huge loss of Tk 1,100 crore.
Earlier, the Civil Aviation and Tourism Ministry had informed the parliamentary committee that those aircraft were taken on dry lease from Egypt for 5 years.
The meeting of the Standing Committee held on Wednesday summoned the then officials of Biman Bangladesh Airlines who were involved in taking lease of the two aircraft.
Chaired by AM Ubaidul Moktadir Chowdhury, chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on the Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism, the meeting was attended by members of the committee Civil Aviation and Tourism State Minister Md Mahbub Ali, Tanvir Imam, Ashek Ullah Rafiq, Anwar Hossain Khan, Sheikh Tanmoy, Syeda Rubina Akter and Kaniz Fatema Ahmed.
Few months back, the Parliament Secretariat in a press statement had asked the standing committee to take necessary steps to ensure the presence of those officials in its next meeting who were involved with irregularities.
The national flag carrier Bangladesh Biman Airlines taken lease of two aircraft on a five-year contract. One was added to the fleet in March, 2014 and the other in May of the same year. Biman has incurred a loss of Tk 650 crore on the two leased aircraft. Since the lease, huge sum of money have been spent on engine breakdowns, re-rentals, repairs and ancillary work, including aircraft rentals.
The then Managing Director (MD) of Biman, Mosaddeq was sacked and other officials were transferred, but those involved in the lease were not punished. This time they have been summoned by the Parliamentary Standing Committee on the Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism.
According to information, Biman had earned Tk 2,200 crore through operating those aircraft and the cost behind those two was Tk 3,300 crore. Biman had to pay a subsidy of Tk 11 crore per month for those aircraft and was released from liability recently.