Biman braces for a bumpy ride
Biman Bangladesh Airlines is heading towards a serious financial crisis due to the global coronavirus fallout.
The national flag carrier has cancelled at least 198 international flights between January and March 28 due to global outbreak.
The company incurred an estimated loss of Tk 217 crore due to flight cancellations, and reduced cargo operation and ground handling, Mohibul Haque, senior secretary of civil aviation and tourism ministry, told The Daily Star last night.
If the situation does not improve in the coming months, Biman will face difficulties in paying its 4,500 employees, of whom 3,329 are permanent, officials said.
The airlines may have to seek financial assistance from the government, Mohibul said.
Principal Secretary to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Ahmad Kaikaus, on March 10 held a meeting with secretaries of different ministries to discuss how the crisis facing trade and commerce could be tackled, sources said.
"Other organisations may be able to recover their loss caused by the coronavirus outbreak through extra effort. But Biman won't be able to recover from its losses," said a top official of civil aviation ministry.
At present, Biman management will be glad if it can pay the salaries, said the official.
Biman is now trying hard to cut costs, said another ministry official.
Due to Saudi Arabia's ban on umra, Biman has lost several thousand potential passengers who were set to fly to Saudi Arabia.
Uncertainly looms over hajj as well.
Hajj pilgrims are the main source of income for Biman. The company is scheduled to carry around 69,000 pilgrims to Saudi Arabia this year, Biman officials.
Prospective Bangladeshi hajis so far showed lukewarm response to register for hajj, said Hajj Agencies Association of Bangladesh.
Biman Managing Director and CEO Mokabbir Hossain said the airliner has halved its international flights as fewer people are flying due to the global coronavirus outbreak.
The national flag carrier suspended flights to several destinations.
"We have decided to reduce our weekly flights to 68 from 142 on 10 international routes amid the coronavirus outbreak," he said.
Apart from Biman, 12 other airlines operating from Dhaka have also cancelled 98 flights since January, sources at the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport said.
Different airlines have started operating their flights with smaller aircraft instead of large wide-bodied ones.
As situation gets worse, many airlines reduced their number of regular flights too.
Around 28 airlines used to carry between 20,000 and 25,000 passengers to and from Dhaka airport each day. The number has significantly fallen in the last two months.
There are currently 119,711 confirmed cases and 4,351 deaths from coronavirus.
Global airlines industry may lose $113 billion in sales if the coronavirus continues to spread, according to the International Air Transport Association.
Just two 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. Carriers in Asia Pacific could lose out on sales worth $58 billion.
If the virus is contained soon, and economies around the world recover quickly, total industry losses could be limited to $63 billion.
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