Germany imposes ban on direct cargo flights
Aviation security shown as reason
After Australia and the UK, Germany has imposed a ban on direct cargo flights from Bangladesh to any airport in Germany due to security reasons, said a notice of the Federal Aviation Authority of Germany yesterday.
The ban means any cargo flights from Bangladesh bound to Germany must be rescreened at a third-country airport.
“Because of information provided by our law enforcement authority and intelligence services” all cargoes and mail consignments originating from Bangladesh pose a risk to aviation security, the notice read.
The German authority has also sent a letter to this effect to the Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB).
Earlier in December last year, Australia imposed a similar ban on direct cargo flights from Bangladesh on security grounds. Then in March this year, the UK did the same. Both the bans are still in place, even months after a British security company took charge of the cargo screening at the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport.
In the letter to the CAAB, the German civil aviation authority mentioned that all consignments originating from Bangladesh shall be identified as high risk cargoes and shall be screened according to the requirement set out in the commission meeting in Germany.
“The CAAB and Biman are aware of the letter from the LBA [German civil aviation authority],” said a senior official of Biman Bangladesh Airlines, asking not to be named.
The official confirmed that all air cargoes from Bangladesh will have to be rescreened at a third country before entering Germany.
An exporter said Germany's national airline Lufthansa did not carry any cargo from Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport yesterday. As a result, exporters had to take their goods back to the factories and warehouses.
“So it is a bad luck for exporters and for Bangladesh, as Germany is the second largest export destination for Bangladesh,” he said, asking not to be named.
Bangladesh exports nearly $5 billion worth of goods to Germany a year. Of the total export, 95 percent are garment items. A significant quantity of goods from Bangladesh is carried to Germany by air.