The government has sought technical support from the International Air Transport Association (IATA) to curb the airline-ticket syndicate, modernise the air-transport sector and develop the tourism industry. IATA, in turn, has expressed interest in helping turn Biman Bangladesh Airlines’ Bangladesh Airlines Technical Centre (BATC) into an international-standard institution.
The matters were discussed on Monday afternoon at the Bangladesh Secretariat during a courtesy call by IATA regional vice-president Shezdon Hir on Civil Aviation and Tourism Minister Afroza Khanam and State Minister M Rashiduzzaman Millat.
At the meeting, the IATA regional vice-president said the association was ready to extend all-out support for developing Bangladesh’s civil-aviation sector in implementing the current government’s election pledges. It was particularly keen, he said, to provide the technical help needed to upgrade Biman’s BATC into a modern, international-standard institution.
Civil Aviation and Tourism Minister Afroza Khanam said the government had already taken effective steps to curb the airline-ticket syndicate, and that IATA’s technical support was very important in this. She said the current government was following a “zero tolerance” policy against any kind of syndicate in the aviation sector and was working to ensure a transparent and competitive market.
State Minister M Rashiduzzaman Millat said a separate clause on cutting carbon emissions had been added to the civil-aviation ordinance to build an environmentally friendly air-transport system, and that steps were being taken to use sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). He said the necessary work to adopt the Montreal Protocol 2014 to curb crimes in the air would also be taken forward.
The meeting also discussed in detail the development of the country’s tourism sector, expanding international air connectivity, building the air-transport sector’s capacity, and further strengthening future cooperation between the government and IATA.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report