'Open Sky Policy' may be extended
Sunday, 30 December 2007
Naim-Ul-Karim
The government is likely to extend further the duration of 'Open Sky Policy (OSP)' for a limited period to help facilitate smooth movement of people working abroad, sources said.
In the face of a shortage of airline capacity for outgoing passengers, the government in September last took a decision about limited OSP for a period of three months beginning from October 1, keeping Hajj flights outside its purview.
According to the decision of council of advisors, Zia International Airport in Dhaka, Shah Amanat International Airport in Chittagong and Osmani International Airport in Sylhet will remain open to the designated airlines until tomorrow (Monday).
Sources said an inter-ministerial meeting will be held tomorrow (Monday) at the request of the Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB) to assess the outbound passenger traffic situation for taking a fresh decision.
"We will put forward our suggestion as to whether the duration of OSP would be required to be extended further for a limited period or not," said a senior official source.
When asked, he said the absence of the secretary of the Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism and also the chairman of the Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh from their work stations on grounds of their having gone to Saudi Arabia to perform holy Hajj has not made it possible to call the meeting earlier.
The official said: "So far we understand that there is no alternative to extend further the duration for a limited period as many overseas job seekers, bound for Malaysia and some other Middle Eastern countries, have already booked their air tickets with those air operators who started operation from Bangladesh under limited OSP facility."
According to official statistics, movement of expatriate workers this year has increased by 123 per cent. Around 754,632 Bangladeshis have gone abroad with jobs in the first 11 months of the current year (January-November) while around 100,000 workers more are ready to leave for Malaysia, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates in the next two months.
Sources said outbound passenger traffic has grown at the rate of 8.0%-10.0% a year, but capacity could not be increased as the airlines serving Bangladesh had to follow the bindings under the provisions of Air Services Agreements (ASAs).
They said the current situation is the result of the failure of the national flag carrier, Biman Bangladesh Airlines Limited, as it could not maintain its market share. The market share of Biman has now come down to about 10 per cent from over 40 per cent earlier.
The government is likely to extend further the duration of 'Open Sky Policy (OSP)' for a limited period to help facilitate smooth movement of people working abroad, sources said.
In the face of a shortage of airline capacity for outgoing passengers, the government in September last took a decision about limited OSP for a period of three months beginning from October 1, keeping Hajj flights outside its purview.
According to the decision of council of advisors, Zia International Airport in Dhaka, Shah Amanat International Airport in Chittagong and Osmani International Airport in Sylhet will remain open to the designated airlines until tomorrow (Monday).
Sources said an inter-ministerial meeting will be held tomorrow (Monday) at the request of the Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB) to assess the outbound passenger traffic situation for taking a fresh decision.
"We will put forward our suggestion as to whether the duration of OSP would be required to be extended further for a limited period or not," said a senior official source.
When asked, he said the absence of the secretary of the Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism and also the chairman of the Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh from their work stations on grounds of their having gone to Saudi Arabia to perform holy Hajj has not made it possible to call the meeting earlier.
The official said: "So far we understand that there is no alternative to extend further the duration for a limited period as many overseas job seekers, bound for Malaysia and some other Middle Eastern countries, have already booked their air tickets with those air operators who started operation from Bangladesh under limited OSP facility."
According to official statistics, movement of expatriate workers this year has increased by 123 per cent. Around 754,632 Bangladeshis have gone abroad with jobs in the first 11 months of the current year (January-November) while around 100,000 workers more are ready to leave for Malaysia, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates in the next two months.
Sources said outbound passenger traffic has grown at the rate of 8.0%-10.0% a year, but capacity could not be increased as the airlines serving Bangladesh had to follow the bindings under the provisions of Air Services Agreements (ASAs).
They said the current situation is the result of the failure of the national flag carrier, Biman Bangladesh Airlines Limited, as it could not maintain its market share. The market share of Biman has now come down to about 10 per cent from over 40 per cent earlier.