Grounded United Airways torments domestic, international flyers

Md Farid Akand came to the Shahjalal International Airport on Wednesday night to catch his United Airways flight to Oman.

But he was informed at the airport that United would not fly.

Akand is one of the hundreds of passengers facing uncertainty over their travel plans after the private airline decided to cancel all its flights from Thursday due to a 'financial crunch'.

The airline announced its grounding plan on Wednesday, a day after its managing director had resigned.

The decision affected passengers both at home and abroad who had planned to fly with United.

The scene was chaotic at the Shahjalal Airport with many sitting helplessly, not knowing what to do.

"I didn't find any United officials," an irate Akand said. "Many like me waited at the terminal the whole night in vain."

In case of flight cancellations, an airline refunds tickets but nothing has been done so far.

Launched in 2007, the private airline flew on several domestic and a few international routes, particularly to the Middle East, Bangladesh's largest labour market.

Passengers with tickets for the Middle East are mostly workers, who can barely afford another ticket on a short notice.

United's acting Managing Director Shahinur Alam apologised for the harassment and promised refunds.

He told reporters that the company did not plan to wrap up its business and urged shareholders to be patient.

Civil Aviation Authority, Bangladesh (CAAB) Director S M Nazmul Anam said they wanted to give the airline’s new management time to sort out their problems.

Publicly listed company United owes CAAB Tk 840 million. The regulator set several payment deadlines and eventually threatened to cancel its licence.

Its Director of Flight Operations Captain M Ilias told reporters on Wednesday: "United does not have the money required to run a flight. We cannot operate flights in this situation.”

However, inquiries revealed that the airline had grounded its flights long before the announcement.

Passengers of four international routes vented their anger, accusing the airline of poor services in recent times.

Hazrat Ali said he missed his joining date at a workplace in Oman on Thursday. "I don't know what I'll do now," he said.

The closure came as a huge blow for Ashrad Mandal from Tangail, who sold his land and spent Tk 250,000 to go to the Middle East.

"I have no other way but to die if I can't go abroad now," he said with a blank look.

United's share dropped six percent to Tk 10.9 in Thursday's trade.