Staff Reporter :Biman Bangladesh Airlines, the national flag carrier, is in a mess due to mismanagement, corruption and continuous loss. “Mismanagement and corruption have galore in the airlines, while poor customer service further blotted its reputation,” a senior Biman official told The New Nation on Saturday asking not to be named.”Even, Biman’s in-flight catering and ground services are also very poor and the airlines mostly fail to maintain the flight schedule,” he added. The Biman official maintained that passengers suffer most on arrival at the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport (HSIA) because they have to wait for hours to collect their baggage.Blaming the present management for deplorable services, the official said, “Biman is losing customers day by day in the wake of its unsatisfactory service. When such a situation is prevailing there, the management is yet to come up with measures to improve the services. While giving an example, he said, a Biman flight landed at HSIA from Bangkok at around 7:00pm on Saturday. The passengers had to wait for more than 15 minutes inside the aircraft as the bus designated for carrying the passengers from the tarmac did not come timely.”Passengers were angry over the delay and many of them discussed that they may not fly Biman again due to such mismanagement,” he added. When asked, the Biman official said, a powerful syndicate with the help of top Biman management is engaged in ruining image of the national carrier in a planned way. “They are doing so only to boost the business of the foreign airlines. They are allegedly taking bribes from the authorities of the foreign airlines so that Biman cannot run effectively,” he said, adding, “This has led to huge frustration among the Biman officials. He further said that they have failed to make the national carrier service-oriented and passenger-friendly. So they have no right to hold their position in the board. Biman has a fleet of 10 aircraft covering 29 international destinations. Except the middle-eastern routes, all other destinations are losing concerns.The airlines incurred a loss of Tk 200 crore last fiscal and accumulated loss during the last five years has been estimated at Tk 1400 crore.
