DHAKA: United Airways newly appointed managing director (MD) Shahinur Alam blamed its former chairman and also managing director Captain Tasbirul Ahmed Chowdhury for their ongoing crisis.

Besides, Alam urged the passengers and employees to allow him a short period of time to overcome the crisis.

He, on Thursday, told media that the mismanagement has been created after Tasbir’s sudden resignation.

They will bring the situation normal by appointing a professional executive officer very soon, Alam hoped.

Earlier on Monday, the sudden resignation of Captain Tasbir created a collapse of the airways. The authorities later announced the cancellation of flights that triggered passengers’ sufferings.

The airways falls in acute liquidity crisis as Civil Aviation Authority, Bangladesh (CAAB) will get Tk 84 crore from them.

Moreover, it also has another debt of Tk 50 crore as fuel charge and maintenance and lease fairs.

The airways authorities shut down their flight operations from Thursday morning due to the shortages of fuel and in-flight foods.

Over one thousand passengers have fallen in uncertainty.

CAAB director (flight safety) Wing Commander Nazmul Alam said that the airways will face tougher action if they fail to restart the flights averting their internal conflicts.

However, the sudden cancellation of the flights caused huge sufferings of the passengers and some officials of the private airlines fled the airport after facing agitation of the passengers.

The airlines had been operating flights on Dhaka-Muscat, Dhaka-Doha, Dhaka-Jeddah, Dhaka-Kuala Lumpur, Dhaka-Chittagong, Dhaka-Sylhet, Dhaka-Jessore and Dhaka-Syedpur-Rajshahi routes.

The announcement of closure came from a press conference held at its head office in city’s Uttara on Wednesday. Earlier, two directors of the airways resigned as they failed to control the situation.

** United Air flight operation collapses

BDST: 0505 HRS, SEP 26, 2014