Biman Bangladesh Airlines. Photo : Collected
National flag carrier Biman Bangladesh Airlines has been fined Tk 10 lakh due to irregularities involving foreign pilots. Bangladesh Civil Aviation has taken action against Biman Bangladesh Airlines for these pilot-related irregularities. Simultaneously, Bangladesh Civil Aviation has suspended Captain Cyril Venus, a foreign pilot employed by Biman Bangladesh Airlines.
An investigation has uncovered irregularities concerning foreign pilots working within Biman Bangladesh Airlines.
It has been revealed that Bangladesh Civil Aviation conducted an internal audit on Bangladesh Biman on December 20 of the previous year. This audit uncovered irregularities concerning Indonesian pilot Seril Venus. Captain Cyril Venus, the pilot in question, was operating a flight as the captain of a Boeing 737 for Bangladesh Biman. The audit found that Captain Cyril Venus was operating the flight with an expired Indonesian medical certificate.
It has come to light that the Indonesian pilot's medical certificate expired on November 24, 2023. Consequently, the Indonesian authority revoked the pilot's license to operate aircraft on this date. As a result, the foreign pilot operated flights without a valid medical certificate for 26 days, rendering these flights illegal and outside insurance coverage. This breach of regulations poses significant risks and liabilities for both the pilot and the airline.
According to the investigation, it appears that there are specific regulations outlined in Section 9.1 and 10.1.5 of Civil Aviation's instructions regarding the issuance of Bangladesh Civil Aviation Permit. These regulations state that for Captain Cyril Venus to operate flights to Bangladesh, his Indonesian medical certificate must be valid. Additionally, foreign pilots in Bangladesh are granted permission to operate flights based solely on the validity of their foreign license and related documents, as indicated in paragraph 7.1 I and paragraph 10.1.5 of CADPAL02/2022. Bangladesh Civil Aviation conducts medical checkups for foreign pilots only during the permit issuance process.
On December 21, 2023, the director of Bangladesh Biman issued a statement regarding flight operations. However, on December 25, 2023, Captain Siddiqur Rahman, the director of Bangladesh Biman, informed Bangladesh Civil Aviation that there had been a misunderstanding regarding the matter. Bangladesh Biman also extended an apology for the mistake made by the pilot.
Despite the apology from Bangladesh Biman, the Civil Aviation Authority proceeded with further investigation. This investigation confirmed the irregularities involving the foreign pilot, leading to a fine of Tk 10 lakh imposed on Bangladesh Biman and the suspension of the pilot.
According to the Civil Aviation Act, there is a provision for suspending the license of a pilot for 90 days for each illegal operation of a flight. This implies that the pilot's suspension may be in accordance with this provision, considering the nature and duration of the irregularities found during the investigation.
However, it is known from various sources that around 40-50 foreign pilots are currently employed by Bangladesh Biman. These pilots are receiving substantial salaries from Bangladesh Biman. These foreign pilots are taking a significant amount of foreign currency out of Bangladesh. At the same time, numerous experienced Bangladeshi pilots, including those retired from the Bangladesh Air Force, are losing their job opportunities to these inexperienced foreign pilots.
Talking to Tahera Khandkar, the General Manager of Biman Bangladesh Airlines, it was clarified that prior to the issuance of license validation by CAAB, pilots, like all others, are required to undergo a medical examination conducted by CAAB's designated doctor. Upon submission of the pilot's medical examination certificate to CAAB, the authority duly issued the License Validation Certificate. Based on this valid medical certificate, the pilot operated flights.
However, CAAB later notified that, in addition to the medical certificate issued by CAAB, the pilot also required an up-to-date medical certificate from the Indonesian Civil Aviation authority. Upon receiving this notification, Biman immediately ceased the pilot's flight operations and arranged for him to undergo medical treatment in Indonesia. It is important to note that the pilot did not operate any flights without a valid medical certificate.
In response to the fine imposed by CAAB, Biman Bangladesh Airlines issued a statement confirming that they have been fined Tk 10 lakh. Biman applied to CAAB on February 11 to request a waiver of the fine, citing a misunderstanding in the incident.
When questioned about this matter, Biman stated that the pilot was prohibited from operating flights for a duration of 60 days as per CAAB's instructions. Since the pilot is employed under Garuda Indonesia's Bilateral Agreement (G2G) with Biman, the issue was promptly reported to Garuda Indonesia to facilitate appropriate action.
Messenger/Disha
