United Airways MD apologises to flyers, asks for time

United Airways has apologised to the suffering passengers after the company suddenly cancelled all its flights and sought time to recuperate.

The new management of the private airline promised to refund passengers for cancelled tickets and urged investors in its stocks to not lose patience.

New MD Shahinur Alam came to Shahjalal International Airport on Thursday afternoon after all its flights were cancelled by the staff on Wednesday evening.

Speaking to reporters, he blamed founding chairman Tasbirul Ahmed Choudhury for the company’s crisis.

“We were not prepared for this situation. We’re looking for a new CEO for the company. When we find one, we’ll resume operations at the shortest possible time,” he said.

Choudhury resigned on Monday but the news became public on Tuesday. He was the only one among the five directors looking after the business, holding both the CEO and the chairman’s positions.

After his resignation Md Mahtabur Rahman was appointed chairman and Shahinur Alam became MD.

But as the new management failed to catch up with the company’s day-to-day business and financial dealings, the staff announced they could no longer operate flights.

Many passengers were unaware of the shutdown and were held up at the airport. No passenger got a refund on their tickets, and as such travel became uncertain for many of them.

“We’re sincerely sorry for the problem the passengers are facing. We’re requesting you to take other flights. I promise that your money will be returned,” Alam said.

Asked about this situation, he said, “On Sept 22, during a board meeting, chairman and MD Tasbirul Ahmed Choudhury resigned when issues with a certain bank account were brought up.”

“Normally if a chairman or MD resigns, he usually hands over all accounts and responsibilities. But he did not do that.”

“We don’t even have the company’s signatory authority yet. We can’t make dealings out of any account,” he said.

Alam said the CEO appointed after Choudhury’s resignation also resigned within hours.

“Although we invested in this business, we never worried about United. We used to rely on Tasbir. After he resigned, we appointed a person from the inside as CEO. But he resigned too, creating a major crisis,” he said.

The new MD sought a few days to get everything in order.

“We don’t plan to shut the business down,” he said.

Board member Ahfaz Miah said, “This organisation began with our investment. We have no plans to shut it down. If we find a CEO tomorrow we will resume flights from next week.”

Trying to assure employees, he said, “You will get your salaries and bonuses in time. There is no need to be worried, no one will lose their jobs.”

United Air was hammered in the stock market after the crisis. In a day, the company’s capital fell by Tk 510 million.

Ahfaz Miah said, “I want to urge our investors to have some patience. We will fix everything within a few days.”

The new management has sent a letter to the Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB) notifying them of a temporary suspension of flights.

CAAB Director of Flights and Regulations SM Nazmul Anam told reporters they had spoken to the United management.

“Their other board members weren’t directly involved in the business. New members have no idea about the trade. They have sought some time,” he said.

“I don’t think the new management will be able to turn this situation around in five days,” he added.

He said CAAB would think about taking action against United later if the situation remained unchanged.