AeroBD | The AERO news Company…Dhaka, December 05, 2015 : The civil aviation ministry plans to summon 25 foreign airlines operators over a dispute on amounts they charge as “fuel surcharge” incurring a loss of Taka 150 crore to the country annually, officials and airlines agents said here today.

“In line with our directive the CAA’B (Civil Aviation Authority Bangladesh) issued in November last year a letter asking the foreign airlines’ to merge their fuel surcharge with the basic fare but they are yet to respond to the call,” civil aviation minister Rashed Khan Menon told #thenewscompany.

He added: “I am going to ask CAA’B to send the foreign airlines’ another such letter and unless they respond immediately we may summon them and demand an explanation . . . I am serious about the matter as interest of the common passengers is also related here.”

Officials and travel agents said the foreign airlines charge nearly half the amount of air fare as fuel surcharge when they operate from Bangladesh, providing no commission to the agents on that surcharge eventually preventing them from giving expected discounts to the passengers. On the other hand, they said, the airlines’ provide the commission on the entire fare to the agents when they fly from their base countries, requiring passengers to pay a lesser amount to fly to Bangladesh.

Association of Travel Agents of Bangladesh (ATAB) president Monjur Morshed Mahbub said the airlines’ give 7 percent commission on basic fare of every ticket they in turn provide 4 to 5 percent the passengers from the amount while selling the air tickets.

“Currently the airlines are giving commission to travels agents only 50 percent of the total fare which they call basic fare and refrained from giving any commission on the rest 50 percent describing it as fuel surcharge,” Mahbub said.

He said the foreign airlines remitted Taka 4162 crore from the country by selling ticket last year and of the amount they straightaway took away half the amount as fuel surcharge while “we deserved at least Taka 150 crore more as commission” requiring the passengers to pay an higher amount for air travels. Citing example, Mahbub said Malaysian airlines was charging Taka 16,500 as fuel surcharge on its Dhaka-Kuala Lumpur-Dhaka route, whereas it was charging only Taka 310 on its Kuala Lumpur-Dhaka-Kuala Lumpur route. “The arrangement or mechanism eventually incurs a loss to the country,” he said.