Biman travellers left in the lurch

The Biman pilots' strike has left hundreds of passengers home and abroad in the lurch as flight delays have been ranging between 10 and 27 hours.
There is still no light at the end of the tunnel as the pilots and the management of Biman Bangladesh Airlines stand their ground. The management even decided to go tough on pilots and gave a 48-hour ultimatum to its pilots to rejoin work.
Five flights were delayed between 10 and 27 hours yesterday after over 46 pilots of the national flag carrier have claimed to be sick since Tuesday. They are protesting against the withdrawal of four Biman cockpit crew from flight duty.
Hajj flights, however, remained out of the purview of the strike.
More than 500 passengers, including Bangladeshi migrant workers, had to face the delays in Dhaka yesterday. Some migrant workers even resorted to demonstrations at Shahjalal International Airport fearing they would lose their overseas jobs due to the delays.
"I am scared, I may lose my job if I fail to reach Kuwait in time," said a migrant worker declining to publish his name.
Biman passengers who were supposed to be on their way to Kuala Lumpur and Muscat yesterday would have to wait till 10:00pm today for the Kuala Lumpur flight and 1:00pm for the Muscat flight.
Biman passengers heading to London and Kolkata also had to wait at the airport for hours yesterday.
The stand off between the pilots and Biman management has been continuing for the last six days with the passengers having to bear the brunt.
The pilots and the management are in a feud over benefits for pilots aged between 57 and 62 years. The pilots say Biman extended their working age but took away a lot of benefits.
The matter is pending with a court.
Biman said it is not interested in going for a settlement with its crew.
On the other hand, cockpit crew said they would continue the strike and would not sit at the negotiation table unless the management cancels its recent duty-suspension orders against four pilots and show-cause notices issued to some others.
With the government staying quiet about the issue, Biman board of directors sat for an emergency meeting yesterday evening.
"Tough actions will be taken if they do not join work calling off their activities within 48 hours," Jamal Uddin Ahmed, chairman of Biman board of directors, told The Daily Start over the phone after the meeting.
All but one attended the meeting of the 11-member board of directors, he said.
He termed the pilots' protest illegal and said a general instruction will be issued today to captains and first officers.
Captain MA Basit Mahtab, general secretary of Bangladesh Airline Pilots' Association (Bapa), told the media earlier yesterday, "We will continue to abstain from work unless the authorities withdraw the orders and notices against us."
Mahtab told the latest position of Bapa after he and three of his colleagues were withdrawn from flight duty Tuesday evening on the grounds of passenger safety. The decision led to the spontaneous work abstention of pilots.
Mahtab claimed to have the backing of 110 of the 116 members of Bapa.
On Tuesday evening, 46 pilots reported that they are sick and declined flights duties and this number is expected to go up unless Biman authorities withdraw their orders, pilots said.
Biman Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director Muhammad Zakiul Islam termed the sickness of a large number of pilots deliberate.
He said the management had to change the type of aircraft to maintain flights even though there are disruptions in some flights. "Hajj flights are okay. But we are continuing flights by changing equipment [aircraft] and flight schedule," he said.
Zakiul said passengers are facing difficulties due to the delays but he claimed it was not atypical for Biman.
Biman MD also denied any scope for settlement with the agitating pilots through an out-of-court settlement.
He said, "Whatever is needed will be done to keep the flights going."
Earlier, Biman sought explanations from four pilots, including Bapa acting president Captain Zakir Hussain and its General Secretary Mahtab, for holding news conference on pilot benefit issues when the matter is under trial.
Pilots claimed that Biman made the decision to increase retirement age of pilots but slashed several benefits including insurance and rehabilitation coverage when a pilot loses his or her wings for not having fitness.
The age increase decision also overlooked the existing agreement between Biman and Bapa, which irked pilots who claimed to have served the airline by going beyond their duty rules for the sake of the national carrier.