Representatives of Bangladesh Airline Pilots' Association (Bapa) held separate meetings with Civil Aviation and Tourism Minister Mir Mohammad Nasiruddin and Biman Managing Director Lutfur Rahman.

Biman management and the Bapa signed a memorandum of understanding in presence of the minister at the civil aviation ministry yesterday to meet gradually a four-point charter of demands of pilots.

"The minister gave assurance to meet our demands by phases. So we withdrew the 'fly by book' movement," said Bapa President Captain SM Nasimul Haque.

Earlier at a special general meeting on December 16, Bapa raised the four-point demand with the December 21 deadline: increased salaries for the crew, commissioning of an alternative institution or aviation medicine experts for medical check-up, employment of cockpit crew's children in Biman and relaxing of rules to help Bapa get registered as a collective bargaining agent.

As the deadline expired, pilots stopped operating extra flights on a 'limited' strike from Monday disrupting international and domestic flights and sparking worries among thousands of Hajj pilgrims to Saudi Arabia.

Biman is to ferry 25,000 Bangladeshis intended to perform Hajj pilgrimage in 81 special flights from December 31.

Biman flies to 26 international and seven domestic destinations with 17 aircraft under a schedule of 12 to 15 domestic and eight international flights a day.