airline
United Airways reiterates commitment to revive the airline
United Airways (BD) Limited authority has reiterated its commitment to return the airline to operations at the earliest possible time while complying with the existing rules and regulations of the country.
The current board of independent directors informed this at its 17th Annual General Meeting for the year 2021-22 on Tuesday on an online platform.
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The board informed the shareholders of their plan to revive the Airline, initially with cargo operation and begin passenger services within the next three years.
The board also expressed gratitude to the government, Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism, BSEC and other concerned parties for all kinds of support and cooperation extended to the airline.
Besides, six other AGMs pending since 2016 were also held to meet the BSEC and Joint Stock Company regulations.
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The AGM was presided over by Kazi Wahidul Alam, Chairman and was attended by the Directors: Prof. Dr. M Sadiqul Islam, Prof. Md. Maksudur Rahman Sarker, Prof. Dr. Md. Badruzzaman Bhuiyan, Mohammed Shah Newaz, Syed Ershad Ahmed and Managing Director (Current Charge) ATM Nazrul Islam.
Auditor’s Reports and Financial Statements of the company for all the mentioned years were presented at the AGMs and were approved by the majority of votes casted.
Hundreds of shareholders also participated at the AGM and appreciated the role of the present Board for its initiative in bringing back the airline to operations.
United Airways was established in 2005 and later in 2010 was listed with Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE). In February 2016, the airline stopped flight operations without any prior announcement leaving thousands of general shareholders in uncertainty and despair.
Air Astra takes off with Dhaka-Cox’s Bazar maiden trip
Bangladesh’s newest private airline, Air Astra, started its journey this morning with hundred percent passengers on flight 2A 441, from Dhaka to Cox’s Bazar.
Air Astra will operate three flights on Dhaka-Cox's Bazar-Dhaka route and two flights on Dhaka-Chattogram-Dhaka route from today (Thursday), said a press release signed by Sakib Hasan Shuvo, deputy manager (Public Relations) of the organisation.
Read more: 'Air Incheon-Korean Airlines’ introduces direct cargo flight from Bangladesh to South Korea
The airline will launch flights on all domestic routes in the country in phases, it read.
The minimum one-way fare, from Dhaka to Cox’s Bazar, was set at Tk 4,800 and Dhaka-Chattogram Tk 3,695.
Read more: Newest private airline ‘Air Astra’ set to start journey
Air Astra has already taken delivery of two ATR 72-600 aircraft in Dhaka and two more aircraft are scheduled to be delivered within 2022. By 2023, Air Astra’s fleet will grow to 10 aircraft.
Air Astra prepares for IOSA ahead of commercial launch
Private carrier Air Astra has started preparations to undergo the International Air Transport Association's (IATA) operational safety audit (IOSA) before starting its operations.
The airline started a five-day IOSA airline auditor training at its training centre in Dhaka Monday.
Imran Asif, CEO and accountable manager), Captain Farhat Jamil, head of flight operations and training, Ghazi Mahmud Iqbal, head of engineering, Md Shafiqul Alam, head of quality assurance, Zafor Uzzaman, head of ground operations and DGR, Captain Khalid Shams, chief of safety, and Hasib ul Alam, head of airline security, attended the training.
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The IOSA programme is an internationally recognised and accepted evaluation system designed to assess the operational management and control systems of an airline.
All IATA members are IOSA registered and must remain registered to maintain their membership.
Air Astra's plan to launch operations by Q1 2022 was affected by the aircraft leasing market uncertainties amid the pandemic.
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The airline has secured 3x ATR 72-600 aircraft on lease and is on track to begin commercial flight operations across the domestic network in Bangladesh in September 2022.
French-built ATR 72-600 aircraft are the most advanced turboprop aircraft in production today, according to a media statement.
NOVOAIR to add more flights on domestic routes
NOVOAIR, a private airline, is going to add more domestic flights on Chattogram and Barishal routes from January 19, 2020.
Workers strike at South Africa’s state-owned airline
Workers have begun striking at South Africa’s troubled state-owned airline over nearly 1,000 expected job cuts, with flights canceled for at least two days.