Coronavirus Outbreak: Biman slashes over half of int’l flights

At least 28 foreign airlines served Dhaka with 65 flights a day but now the number has come down to about 30, Group Capt AHM Touhid-ul-Ahsan, director at the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport, told The Daily Star. 

The earnings of Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh, the regulatory authority of the country's civil aviation, also took a hit.

CAAB Chairman Air Vice Marshal M Mafidur Rahman, told this correspondent that CAAB used to earn about Tk 3 crore a day from HSIA but now it earns about Tk 1 crore.

Biman Bangladesh Airlines in its latest decision suspended flights to Muscat after the government of Oman decided not to allow any Bangladeshi in due to the Covid-19 outbreak, said Tahera Khandaker, the carrier's deputy general manager of public relations. 

Earlier, Biman suspend flights to Dammam, Madina, Jeddah, Riyadh in Saudi Arabia, Kolkata and New Delhi in India, and Kuwait, Qatar and Kathmandu as the governments there decided to ban travel from Dhaka, added Tahera. 

The national carrier is now operating flights to London, Manchester, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore and Bangkok. But flights to even these destinations have dropped. 

Biman now flies to Kuala Lumpur 12 times a week instead of the usual 20, to Singapore five times instead of 14, and to Bangkok four times instead of 14, Biman sources said.

The carrier incurred a Tk 270 crore loss since February, said a top official of Biman. 

Tahera said between February 28 to March 28, Biman was scheduled to operate 914 international flights and carry 2,21,574 passengers. But the carrier could operate 584 flights and carry 1,22,963 passengers at best. 

M Mohibul Haque, senior secretary at the civil aviation ministry, told The Daily Star that Biman is heading towards a serious financial crisis.

Apart from incurring losses due to suspension of flights, the national carrier was also losing money as it was carrying less freight and was earning a lot less from ground handling, Mohibul said. 

If the situation does not improve in the coming months, Biman will be in difficulty to pay its 4,500 employees, of whom 3,329 are permanent, Biman officials said.

The airlines may have to seek financial assistance from the government, he said.

He also said unlike organisations of other sectors, Biman would not be able to recover the losses with extra effort and that was why the carrier is now trying to cut costs. 

Global aviation industry may lose $113 billion in sales if the coronavirus continues to spread, according to the International Air Transport Association.

Just three weeks ago, the IATA had been expecting lost sales in the range of $30 billion.

Airlines in Europe and Asia would bear the brunt of the pain, according to the IATA.