Dhaka, Sep 4 (IANS) Bangladesh Biman, the country's ailing national carrier, is facing a strike threat from Thursday by workers who have combined to ask the company to please take measures "to be solvent".

Officials and employees of Bangladesh Biman Sunday called an indefinite strike at airports across the country to press for their 14-point charter of demands after the airline began shrinking its operations, especially on international routes.

"We wrote to all local agencies of international airlines to refrain from using Bangladeshi airports from Sep 7," a leader of the Bangladesh Airline Pilots Association (BAPA) was quoted as saying in the Daily Star.

The airline has been refused money for resuscitation by the government that has asked it to seek funds from the market.

Money crunch has derailed its modernisation plans and put on hold purchase of new aircraft. It operates 13 ageing aircraft at present.

Security concerns and high operations have forced it to suspend its operations to the US and other major foreign destinations.

The government is looking for a foreign collaborator. Among those reportedly short-listed are Thai Airways and Singapore Airlines.

But the BAPA leader calls it "a conspiracy to bring in foreign airlines at the cost of Biman".

He said from Thursday the Biman officials will not do any ground handling at Zia International Airport, Shah Amanat International Airport, Chittagong and Shah Jalal International Airport, Sylhet.

Ten trade bodies of Bangladesh Biman yesterday integrated themselves into a broader platform styled Biman Sammilito Sangram Parishad (BSSP) to protest the national flag carrier's ailing financial condition and tarnished image abroad.

Captain S.M. Helal of BAPA was made convener of the Sangram Parishad launched after a joint protest rally in front of Biman headquarters. Presidents and general secretaries of the other nine trade unions were made members.

"Our only demand to the government is now for immediate allocation of the funds Biman needs to bail itself out of the acute financial crisis," said another BAPA leader.