A bill to divide the Civil Aviation Authority gets forwarded
Kathmandu, ANN
Two bills brought to split the the regulatory body of the Civil Aviation, Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal, have moved ahead from the parliament. Both the bills have been sent to the parliamentary committee for clause-wise discussion.
Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Yogesh Kumar Bhattarai had proposed to send the Nepal Civil Aviation Authority Bill, 2076 BS and Nepal Air Service Authority Bill, 2076 BS to the Legislative Management Committee for discussion in the National Assembly on Wednesday.
The bill provides for the division of the existing Nepal Civil Aviation Authority into separate entities. The government has brought the bill with the preparation to divide the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal as an air service provider and regulatory body.
After the introduction of the bill, the civil aviation will be regulated by the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) and the air service will be provided by the Air Services Authority of Nepal (ASAN). Minister Bhattarai has claimed that the law related to aviation services will be in line with the global environment after the implementation of the Civil Aviation Authority Act and the Air Services Authority Act.
The International Civil Aviation Organization had suggested to the Government of Nepal since 2009 to make Nepal’s aviation sector service-oriented and regulatory. An agreement was reached between ICAO and CAAN last year to divide the authority on the basis of work under the guidance of the International Civil Aviation Organization.
The European Union (EU) has been blacklisting Nepal’s aviation sector since 2013. The bill proposes to establish Air Services Authority of Nepal to make Nepal’s aviation service standard, safe and reliable and to operate airports and air navigation services in accordance with international standards.
Air Services Authority of Nepal will prepare and implement aeronautical charts related to air services, provide flight information, disseminate weather information, approve flight schedules, and coordinate search and rescue operations. The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal, on the other hand, is in the process of drafting a new law to regulate airlines.
At present, the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal is the regulatory body of the all civil aviation activities as per the Civil Aviation Act, 2053 BS. After the implementation of the new bill, the work being done by one body will be divided into two bodies.
At present, the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal is working on aviation, communication, air traffic management and air transport.
