Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh Suspends Pilot’s Licence 

Foreign Desk 

The Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB), has suspended the privileges of the commercial pilot licence (CPL) of Sadia Ahmed, a first officer of Biman Bangladesh Airlines, as she has failed to submit proper evidence for her claim that she was a science student in college.

Recently, CAAB sent her a show-cause notice by email, requesting her to provide authentic documents against accusations of her forging her certificate.

However, she could not provide an explanation or documents supporting her claim within the stipulated time.

The aviation apex body in Bangladesh then took the decision to suspend the privileges of her CPL on April 1, multiple CAAB officials confirmed to Dhaka Tribune.

They said CAAB had not issued a suspension notice but had taken the decision internally because of Sadia Ahmed’s “irresponsible behaviour.”

The CAAB officials added it was a tough and lengthy process to permanently cancel a pilot’s licence in line with international procedures.

Sadia Ahmed replied to CAAB’s show-cause notice by email saying her certificate was genuine, promising to submit evidence after returning home, according to a high-ranking CAAB official.

In an email, she informed CAAB that she had left Bangladesh for the time being due to illness. But CAAB or Biman authorities do not know how she left the country or when she will return home.

According to official documents, Sadia Ahmed, a humanities student during her higher-secondary education, submitted a fake education certificate claiming to have been a science student.

CAAB states in its guidelines that commercial pilots must have HSC (science) or equivalent educational qualifications with compulsory physics and mathematics.

According to information received from the Dhaka Education Board, she got second division from the humanities group taking the HSC exams as a student of Shaheed Anwar Girls College.

Sadia’s recruitment
Discrepancies in Biman’s recruitment of five contract pilots raised questions earlier this year about whether some of its officials are taking advantage of the system to make undue profits.

One of the five pilots is Sadia Ahmed (ID number G-51745), wife of Sazid Ahmed, Chief of Technical at Biman.

Sadia Ahmed was appointed on November 12, 2019, and piloted her first flight the following month. According to the contract letter, her term of one-year service ended on December 9, 2020.

Sadia Ahmed was appointed on November 12, 2019 and piloted her first flight the following month. According to the contract letter, her term of one-year service ended on December 9, 2020.

The tenure of the other four pilots ended the same month, and their licences also expired.

However, on February 23, 2021, Biman issued a letter to arrange a long refresher course on the Boeing-737 for the five pilots. The letter was signed by Captain Anis Ahmed, director and chief of training.

Subsequently, the recruitment of the five pilots was approved and they were reappointed in April 2021.

According to the Bangladesh Airline Pilots Association (BAPA), the renewal of contract pilots in such a manner is a violation of service rules.

A job circular must be issued, and discussions held between BAPA and the aviation authorities before the appointment of any contract pilots.

According to the Labor Law of Bangladesh, a person can be employed on a contract basis for a maximum of one year.

BAPA also questioned the need to appoint contract pilots when 26 permanent pilots were available to operate flights.

Credit: Dhaka Tribune

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