Biman faces 80 audit objections to renew IATA license

Biman Bangladesh Airlines faces 80 non-compliance issues in its operational management system.

The IATA Operational Safety Audit (IOSA) – that assess the operational management and control systems of an airline – raised the objections in an audit this month.

Biman has to renew its license every three years after meeting the IOSA audit requirements.

Biman will have to comply with 80 audit objections to renew its license with the IATA (International Air Transportation Association) by the second week of December

If the national carrier fails to comply with the requirements, it will lose the IATA license and will be restricted from landing in many destinations. 

All the IOSA objections are related to Biman's operational management system. 

The audit found that Biman has a serious shortage of documentation. It also has a manpower shortage in its CSQ (Corporate Safety Quality) department – a core department working on safety issues. 

For instance, Biman trained its ground handling officers, but proper documentation was not maintained. 

Shortage of documentation reflects a lack of transparency in the operation system of the company, said a senior Biman executive. 

However, "from the safety aspect, Biman is fully compliant," he claimed. 

Biman's previous management obtained a waiver from objections year after year, multiplying the number of non-compliance issues, the senior executive said. 

This year IOSA will not grant a waiver on non-compliance issues. So Biman's new management is facing the challenge of complying with too many objections within a short period of time, he added. 

When contacted, Md Mokabbir Hossain, Biman's managing director and chief executive officer, admitted to the objections raised in the audit, and said: "It will be a challenge to comply with the objections in such a short time, but we will do it."

An action plan with a time frame has been formulated to comply with the requirements, Mokabbir elaborated. 

Following the audit requirements, Biman recently added more people to its CSQ department and has sent them for training. 

Biman is going to recruit around 140 officers after more than a decade. 

Another senior executive of the company said that Biman created a serious manpower shortage by not recruiting officers in the last 12 years. 

The national carrier's operation system has become very weak, as a consequence, he explained.