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Stranded United Bangladesh flight gets engine, may fly back soon

11 Feb 2016

Feb 10

IT TOOK over 197 days (over six and half months); a mind-boggling amount of over Rs 55 crore; completion of tiresome paperwork formalities between two countries and what not, just to bring a port engine (left) for United Bangladesh Airways flight stranded at Swami Vivekananda Airport of Raipur since August 7, 2015. Laden on a heavy commercial flat-bed surface truck (NL-02 G-5462), the turbofan powered engine, whose cost is estimated to be over Rs 55 crore, made its way-in to Raipur Airport here on Wednesday noon.

However, it would take more than a fortnight before the stranded flight make a home flight back to Dhaka. After covering almost 1200- kilometers road journey, all way long from Dhaka, the state-of-art MD-83 (Mc Donnell Douglas) type jet engine for the 183-seater aircraft, moved into the Indian Territory from West Bengal, which shares porous international boundaries with Bangladesh.

On condition of anonymity, well-placed sources in Airports Authority of India (AAI) told The Hitavada that although the much-awaited precious cargo of United Bangladesh Airways had reached Raipur on Wednesday morning at around 8 am, its crew members took no chance in ensuring safe and sound delivery of the consignment right inside the airport.

“The truck with its four-member crew aboard, inched slow and steady towards the airport, with bare minimum speed of 30Kms per hour,” the sources added. Sources further informed that a 4-member team of United Bangladesh Airways flight, including a Colombian citizen, who had been camping in Raipur since February 1, 2015, received the consignment upon its arrival under the watchful supervision of officials from Air India team.

The team is being led by United Bangladesh Flight key representative Shantanu Kumar, who is based at Kolkata.

“Air India had been entrusted the responsibility to assist the visiting crew members of neighbouring country’s stranded airline here at Raipur Airport,” the sources said and added, soon another team of engineers would be arriving from Dhaka to Raipur for assembling the port engine on he flight.

Sources also disclosed that once the engine is installed and all necessary trials are thoroughly conducted, then a team from Director General Civil Aviation (DGCA) would inspect the flight before it is given clearance to takeoff towards Dhaka skies.

“Ever since the flight made an emergency landing at Raipur Airport on Aug 7, 2015 following some mechanical snag in its port engine, it was subsequently moved to a reserved parking bay area.

The parking fee alone for the stranded flight was Rs 4000 per day and it counted 197 days finally on February 10, when its new port engine arrived on here Wednesday,” he added. The sources also affirmed that the Bangladesh Airlines was yet to pay the parking fee of over Rs 7.88 lakhs for 197 days of parking at Raipur Airport.

“But, all other remaining formalities have been completed in black and white and we expect to bid adieu to this guest flight maximum by a fortnight period,” they maintained. Meanwhile, Reliable sources also revealed that a Colombian citizen among the four-member crew of United Bangladesh Airways recently had to face some glitches in his immigration papers.

“The visa of this Colombian crew member had expired just few days ago. But keeping in view the crisis situation being faced the neighbouring country airliner, the local authorities helped the crew member to get his visa extended till March 7, 2016,” the sources added.

The truck laden state of art MD-83 Mc Donnell Douglas jet engine
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