Minister Menon shifts office to airport for March as UK bars Dhaka cargo

Civil Aviation and Tourism Minister Rashed Khan Menon has shifted his office to Shahjalal International Airport for the rest of March to oversee security system development after the imposition of a UK bar on cargo flights from Bangladesh to Britain.

Staff Correspondentbdnews24.com
Published : 10 March 2016, 02:04 PM
Updated : 10 March 2016, 02:04 PM

Civil Aviation Secretary Khurshed Alam Chowdhury will also be with the minister, a meeting of the ministry chaired by the minister decided on Thursday, according to a media release from the ministry.
 
In a web post announcing the bar, the UK authorities said their recent assessments of Shahjajal International Airport found that some international security requirements were not being met.
 
Three months ago, Australia imposed a similar bar on cargo from Bangladesh.
 
The ministry said the minister and the secretary would perform their office duties at the airport for a part of the day until Mar 31 in order to speed up the implementation of a UK-Bangladesh work plan on development of the security system at the airport.
 
The airport security system is undergoing the overhaul following recommendations by the UK High Commission in Dhaka, a special aviation team and security specialists, the release said.
 
The Executive Committee of the National Economic Committee (ECNEC) has cleared a Tk 90 million project to purchase modern equipment as part of the overhaul, it added.