The country's privately owned airline Novoair is in the process of shutting down its services. To cope with the huge losses, the company's owners have taken the initiative to sell Novoair. In the meantime, the authorities are in talks with a potential foreign buyer to sell Novoair. This information has been revealed by relevant sources.

According to sources at Novoair and the Civil Aviation Authority, Novoair authorities have taken the initiative to sell their aircraft and other assets. For this, potential foreign buyers want to inspect the airline's aircraft. The inspection is scheduled to take place this month.

Speaking to several top people associated with the ownership and management of the company, it is learned that instead of closing down the company's operations at huge losses, efforts are being made to sell the company. In this way, the owners will not only save themselves from huge losses, but the company will also remain in business after the change of ownership. If the sale process ultimately fails, they are considering closing it down. In other words, the future of Novoair is now either to sell it or to close it down.

NovoAir Managing Director Mofizur Rahman told, "Our air transport services are still ongoing. However, we are in the process of selling our aircraft and other assets. We are trying to transfer ownership through sale rather than closing the company."

According to company sources, the losses of this domestically owned private airline have been increasing for several years due to the increase in the price of jet fuel used in air transport. The owners of the company had been looking for domestic and foreign buyers for a year and a half to overcome the loss. Talks were also held with a domestic entrepreneur in this regard. But the sale process did not progress much due to lack of business. Now the sale process is underway with a new foreign company.

Novoair started commercial flights on January 9, 2013. Its ownership is associated with Arshad Jamal, the head of the garment industry company Tusuka Group and former vice-president of the garment industry owners' organization BGMEA, former members of parliament Faizur Rahman, Faiz Khan and Mofizur Rahman. Novoair was originally launched to increase the business of Tusuka Group. Its business operations have faced a crisis less than a decade after its commercial journey began.

Novoair currently operates flights to six domestic destinations. The destinations are Dhaka-Chittagong, Dhaka-Cox's Bazar, Dhaka-Jashore, Dhaka-Sylhet, Dhaka-Rajshahi and Dhaka-Saidpur. The airline operates multiple flights a day to these destinations. In addition, it operates an international flight to Dhaka-Kolkata, but it is currently closed.

Novoair currently has 5 of its own aircraft. Each aircraft has a seating capacity of 72. These aircraft are ATR models. Novoair employs about 650 people at its head office and various offices and sales centers across the country.

A source in the company said that Novoair currently has a bank loan of Tk 1.5 billion. Apart from this, it also has some liabilities. The company wants to pay off a part of that loan by selling five aircraft and other assets. If its operations are stopped at this time, it will take about Tk 300 million to pay employees' salaries and other dues according to the law. The authorities want to wind up the business before these liabilities increase further. They think that in the current state of the company, a large part of the liabilities can be paid by selling assets. If the business is run for a few more years, the losses will increase further. If the assets cannot be sold then, it will be difficult to pay off the liabilities.

The source says that the aircraft currently in Novoair's hands will expire in the next few years. It will be difficult to find buyers for these aircraft then. On the other hand, if the company wants to continue operating its flights or business, it will have to buy or lease new aircraft in a few years. In that case, a large investment will be required. The owners of the company, which is making losses, are now not interested in investing in this business again.

When contacted to inquire about the overall situation of NovoAir, Tusuka Group CEO Arshad Jamal refused to comment on the matter.

The last domestically owned Regent Airways closed in 2020. Earlier, domestically owned United Airways and GMG Airlines also closed after operating for a few years. Although several private companies have been involved in the aviation business in the country in the last few decades, most of them have eventually closed down due to losses. Currently, apart from Novoair, US Bangla Airlines and Air Astra are in this business. Apart from this, the government-owned Bangladesh Biman operates flights to several domestic destinations.