Biman provides 'line training' to foreign pilots

The national flag carrier, Biman Bangladesh Airlines, has launched a landmark programme in South Asian aviation history by offering "line training" to foreign pilots with its modern Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft.

The program commenced on Friday with a Mongolian pilot receiving onboard training on a flight bound for the Dhaka-Sylhet-London route, according to a statement released by Biman.

The statement said that 12 pilots from the Mongolian national carrier would be trained with Biman's Boeing 787 Dreamliners, with three pilots in the first batch.

The Managing Director & CEO of Biman, Shafiul Azim, formally inaugurated the programme at a ceremony held at the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport (HSIA), with the Director of Administration & HR, Md Siddiqur Rahman, Flight Operations Director Capt Md Siddiqur Rahman, top officials, pilots, and trainers in attendance.

During the ceremony, Mr Azim said that Biman Bangladesh Airlines had gained the trust of foreign airlines with its globally acclaimed flight safety standards, adding that "Foreign airlines are gradually attracted to in-flight training of Biman thanks to its safety standards and ability to provide standardised training."

He also announced that Biman plans to broaden its training programmes.

The local national carrier has already received the necessary approval from the Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB).

Bangladesh is the first of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) nations to offer this kind of aviation training programme to other nationalities using state-of-the-art Dreamliner aircraft.

According to its website, Biman currently has six Dreamliners, while the total number of aircraft in the fleet is 21.

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