STUDY OF BIMAN AIRLINES AND CIVIL AVIATION IN BANGLADESH

A Study was conducted in Bangladesh that embraced all facets of civil aviation and the country's airline "BIMAN" under a grant from the USTDA. A WMA Senior Associate was the Project Manager of the study team. Special pavement evaluations were made at four airline airports as part of the study. The specific Task efforts were as follows:

Air Traffic Demand Forecast. Key findings were developed in the areas of passenger traffic and air freight growth at the two major airports. These forecasts allowed development of realistic preliminary plans for facilities that could accommodate the growth expected.

Airport Review & Future Requirements. Seven airline airports within Bangladesh were visited to inspect facilities and recommend improvements for both the short and long term development. Existing small airports also were inspected to determine their role in the civil airport system.

Airport & Airspace Capacity. Examination of the airway and airport air navigation aids, electronic and visual, was made. Recommendations for upgrading the country's NAVAIDS were made for improving the capacity and modernizing obsolete equipment.

Economic Analysis of Airport Investment Programs. The total investment program was reviewed to set forth the return that could be visualized as a result of the capital expenditures needed to fulfill the future aviation demand on the airports and in the country's airspace.

Development of a Financial Plan. The Financial Plan prepared was to schedule the capital expenditures and the return on the investment by selective projects to keep the total program in balance for both the short and long term investments.

Market Share & Fleet Restructuring of BIMAN Bangladesh Airlines. This examination considered the load factors on international and domestic routes, both passengers & air freight. Recommendations were made on route restructuring and fleet purchases to satisfy the passenger and air freight traffic demand forecast. Marketing and public contact policies also were reviewed for effectiveness.

Departmental Review of BIMAN Bangladesh Airlines. The study of BIMAN Bangladesh Airlines ranged from fleet use and personnel qualifications to routine and heavy maintenance scheduling.

ZIA International Airport, DHAKA. The primary international airport at the capital city was experiencing runway failures and a special evaluation was undertaken on this problem with recommendations for correction.

Chittagong, Sylhet & Saidpur Airports. These three commercial air service airports also were examined with special attention given to the runway strength requirements to satisfy planned changes in aircraft type for future air traffic.

Final Reports. An Executive Summary was made and the above subjects were contained in three separate volumes for the convenience of the users within the Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism of Bangladesh.