UK's endorsement should be followed by others
We welcome the news of an imminent lift of UK's ban on air cargo from Dhaka to London imposed two years ago. The ban that was followed by Australia, Germany and then the whole European Union, requires all cargo going to these countries to be redirected to a third country for security clearance before they could be shipped to the country of destination. The delay in delivery this ban has caused has also led to huge financial loss for Bangladesh's exporters. Boris Johnson's comment "it's all but done" is being seen therefore as a sign that this punishing ban will soon be a thing of the past.
But now that the UK ban is hopefully going to be lifted the Aviation authority must be extra vigilant to make sure that security measures of our international airport are maintained. The ban was placed because the countries concerned felt that security measures at the airport were far from adequate. After the UK, Australia and Germany imposed the ban, the EU, where more than 54 percent of Bangladesh's exports are headed, followed suit.
It is commendable that the government, with the help of a British firm, has been able to pull up the security standards enough for the UK to consider lifting the ban. Apart from the loss to the exporters caused by the delay and the extra cost of getting it screened in a third country, Bangladesh Biman, our national carrier also was deprived of substantial revenue — more than 100 crore taka last year— earned from direct flights to London.
Now that the UK is about to give the green signal we hope the other countries will lift the ban as soon as possible. We also urge our civil aviation authority to maintain impeccable security measures at the airport so that such a punitive ban may never have reasons to return.
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