Biman Bangladesh Airlines has taken the controversial decision to send a massive 60-member delegation on a ‘promotional flight’ to Canada for the appointment of a general sales agent and consultation with Transport Canada Civil Aviation (TCCA).

The delegation includes officials of Biman, the Civil Aviation and Tourism Ministry, and the Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB), as well as their family members. As many as 60 other passengers may also travel on the flight, at no cost to themselves.

The flight, which is set to depart at 11:30pm on March 26, is expected to cost the national flag carrier a whopping Tk10 crore, according to Biman sources.

Promotional flights are not usually conducted until all formalities to officially launch the flight are completed, but it will still take around two months to finish the necessary paperwork, they added.

An industry insider called it “a novel joke” with the public to send such a massive delegation and their families on a holiday under the guise of ironing out bureaucratic details, while Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) said Biman should avoid doing anything that may undermine the dignity of the Mujib Year in the name of celebrating the occasion.

Biman Managing Director and CEO Dr Abu Saleh Mostafa Kamal said criticism of the promotional flight was based on false information and part of propaganda against the airlines.

He told Dhaka Tribune that it had been decided to operate the Dhaka-Toronto promotional flight before the end of the Mujib Year to celebrate the successes of the government.

On March 7, a government order (GO) was issued by the Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism.

According to the order, the list of passengers on the flight to Toronto includes State Minister of Civil Aviation and Tourism Mahbub Ali, his wife Shamima Jafrin, daughter Tarrima Rahbar, Secretary Mokammel Hossain, State Minister APS Mohammad Mosabbir Hossain, Deputy Secretary of the Ministry Syed Shariful Islam, Biman General Manager Moktar Hossain, Deputy Secretary Mohammad Abdul Awal and a few others.

Furthermore, at least 15 Biman engineers and officials, including MD and CEO Abu Saleh Mohammad Mostafa, and five officials of CAAB are set to be on board.

The Biman MD’s and secretary’s wives are also expected to travel, as well as the wives and children of two more officials of the airlines. Two members of parliament and four journalists will also be on the flight.

Biman is bearing the cost of everyone. The wives and children of two more officers of the airline can also go. Two parliamentary members and four journalists from BSS, ATN Bangla, BTV and UNB will be on the flight.

Iftekharuzzaman, executive director of TIB, said the first question was whether the decision to introduce the flight was preceded by a proper feasibility study, including cost-benefit analysis.

“The moot question then is why the government has considered it necessary to undertake a highly expensive visit like this for the stated purposes of appointing a GSA and consulting TCCA, all of which can be achieved through much more cost-effective means, including with the support of the Bangladesh High Commission in Canada,” the TIB executive director said.

“Even if there were justifiable reasons for the visit, there can be no valid grounds for the State Minister and a couple of MPs to undertake a visit like this, which is practically demeaning of the high level of public positions they hold. They are supposed to have much higher types of policy making and legislative responsibilities, rather than foreign trips like this on such flimsy grounds,” he added.

He called for those who were involved in making the decision on the trip to be held accountable for wasting public funds.