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Four domestic airlines owe Tk 25.45b to CAAB

Civil aviation authority now in serious financial trouble


Rezaul Karim | August 30, 2017 00:00:00


Four domestic airlines owe Tk 25.45 billion to the Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB) in arrear fees and charges.

State-run Biman Bangladesh Airlines (BBA) and three other private airlines owe the money to the CAAB in the form of charges for landing, parking, housing of aircraft and route navigation and embarkation fees, officials said.

According to the officials, different non-aeronautical charges also remain outstanding with these four airlines.

As of July last, Biman owed Tk 22.90 billion to CAAB. Dues with United Airways, Regent Airways and US-Bangla Airlines amount to Tk 1.92 billion, Tk 556 million and Tk 70 million respectively, a senior CAAB official said.

"Biman and some other private airlines are paying their outstanding dues in small amounts. Biman paid over Tk 230 million in July last," he added.

The main sources of income of the civil aviation authority are aeronautical and non-aeronautical charges which come from domestic and international airlines, sources said.

The CAAB meets its revenue expenses and make various payments along with financing its development projects from earnings received in such way.

Now it is facing financial problem in carrying out its development activities due to non-payment of aeronautical and non-aeronautical charges by these domestic airlines, they said.

"Money earned as different charges is the main source of CAAB's income and expenditures on different development projects are met from that income. As a result, we face liquidity problem implementing the projects when some airlines don't pay their outstanding charges in time," CAAB Member (Finance) Mizanur Rahman told the FE.

"We expect that BBA will pay the rest of dues soon as it will be earning a lot by carrying Hajj pilgrims this year. Other airlines will also pay their outstanding dues as early as possible," he said.

US-Bangla Airlines has defaulted after it started operating flights on international routes. Presently, United Airways is now out of operation, he mentioned.

The airlines are not settling outstanding dues despite repeated reminders. They are just dragging their feet over payment of dues, a source concerned said.

The government brought the CAAB under the corporate tax net from the fiscal year (FY) 2011-12. The CAAB defaulted on payment of about Tk 7.0 billion in income tax until FY 2014-15, a high official of the CAAB said.

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