Additional MA-60 and Harbin Y-12e to fly in the country shortly (Nepal Airlines)
January 17, 2016- Kathmandu
Nepal Airlines Corporation (NAC) will be getting two Chinese aircraft for its domestic fleet by next week, two years after their delivery was made sure.
An NAC squad steered by Poshak Gnawali, director of the Engineering Maintenance Department, left for China on Sunday to take supply of a 56-seater MA60 and a 17-seater Y12e. Their delivery had been mired after problems appeared in the first set of airplanes that reached in 2014. Administrators of the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (Caan) will be escorting the NAC delegation to check the aircraft before their transfer.
The aircraft are presumed to reach Nepal within the next ten days whose required pilots have already been hired and are ready to fly.
In November 2013, the Cabinet gave consent to the government to sign credit and award contracts with China to acquire six aircraft to boost the domestic fleet of the national flag carrier. China has delivered one MA60 and one Y12e worth Rs2.94 billion as gifts. The additional aircraft are being bought with a soft loan of Rs3.72 billion provided by China’s EXIM Bank.
The aircraft delivery procedure had been put on grip for the last two years after NAC stated many problems, comprising load restraints, in the two that have joined its fleet. The builder accomplished assembling the three Y12e for Nepal in early 2015. The aircraft, bearing NAC livery and Nepali registration numbers, have been sitting in the factory barn since then.
NAC stimulated to resuscitate the deal subsequent to the instructions from the Tourism Ministry last October. It had been given extensive flexibility in ensuing with the order.
The national flag carrier had been authorized to evaluate the commercial air service agreement signed in November 2012 with the aircraft supplier AVIC International Holding Corporation of China.
NAC observed the sturdiest passenger growth after it got delievered the two Chinese-made aircraft in 2014. Rendering to Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA), Nepal Airlines passenger tenancy on domestic routes enhanced 69.87 percent to 34,978 in 2014.
