Airbus aircraft being procured out of necessity, not under pressure

The decision to buy aircraft from the European manufacturer Airbus is being made out of the country's necessity, not under any pressure, said Civil Aviation and Tourism Minister M. Rashiduzzaman Millat.

He said these things in response to journalists' questions about buying aircraft from the United States' Boeing and Europe's Airbus at a press briefing held today, Tuesday noon, in the conference room of the Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism.

The minister said, "What we will buy and from where is our internal matter. We ourselves should think about which aircraft will be better for us. We are not buying Airbus under any pressure. We are buying it for our own needs."

He said, "We are trying to buy 10 aircraft in October. We are also trying to take them on lease, but they are not available. To improve the aviation sector, we will buy from wherever we will benefit."

Besides, noting that an agreement has already been made with Boeing to buy 25 aircraft to expand the fleet of Biman Bangladesh Airlines, the minister said that among them are 15 wide-body and 10 narrow-body aircraft. Under the new agreement, there are five Boeing 787-10s and six Boeing 737-8 Max aircraft. According to the agreement, the first aircraft is scheduled to be delivered in November 2031. However, Boeing has been requested to deliver at least one aircraft by 2027-28.

Rashiduzzaman Millat said there are many empty slots in various places in the country. Noting that Bangladesh should move forward with its own carriers, he said that in buying aircraft, the country's needs are being given importance.