Staff Reporter :
The government has decided to return the two Boeing 777-200ER airpcraft to Egypt after loss of Tk 300 crore.
Biman Bangladesh Airlines (BBA) brought those on five years lease in March 2014 from Egypt Air. Biman will return one airplane by March and the other by May next year although the five-year contract with Egypt Air will expire in 2019, said Shakil Meraj, the spokesman for the national carrier.
The losses stemmed from engine breakdown, hiring of more engines and repairs of the damaged one.
Biman hired two more engines from Egypt Air in the past few years. The last breakdown happened in December 2016, sources said.
Biman assigned a consultant to send back Boeing 777-200 as its service turned out unsatisfactory after launching in August last year, Meraj, a General Manager for Biman, said.
But he would not say how much fine the state owned carrier may need to pay for sending back the planes a year ahead of expiry of the agreement.
Biman has been making profit for the past two years after being in the red for five straight years. It earned a profit of Tk 2.76 billion in fiscal 2015-26.
The damaged engines were sent to a company in the US for repairs. But as no delivery date was set for the engines, Biman is still paying rents to Egypt Air and repair fees to the US firm.
Earlier, the Parliamentary Standing Committee of Civil Aviation and Tourism Ministry formed a four-member investigation panel last month after the matter was brought to light by the media.
The probe report mentioned that all the conditions of lease of two planes’ lease were in favour of Egypt Air, leading Biman to incur the huge loss.
It has recommended sending both Boeings back, saying the hiring of these planes and officials’ failure in determining their capability were against Biman’s interest.
The watchdog on Civil Aviation Ministry said the national carrier had earned Tk 275 crore profits, but the massive loss has reversed the gains.
It also said the Ministry should have supervised the leasing process, but showed ‘extreme negligence’ to the matter.
The carrier currently has four 777-300 ER and two Boeing 737-800 aircraft in its fleet. It also has two Boeing 737-800 jets and uses two Dash 8 or Q-Series airplanes on short routes.
