The second Airbus A330 Makalu ‘9N-ALZ’ of Nepal Airlines Corporation (NAC) is waiting for the first commercial flight as the corporation is managing crews and other necessary preparations. Rabindra Shrestha, spokesperson of NAC stated that second A330 is expected to conduct its commercial flights in the first week of September as pilot management is going on for which three foreigner pilots have arrived and 8 Nepalese pilots have been arranged.
He also informed that second Airbus A330 is in the phase of obtaining Air Operator’s Certificate (AOC). After receiving AOC for Makalu, it would be easy to operate scheduled flights in additional countries. According to Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN), second Airbus does not have to operate “Proving Flights” as its nature is similar to first Airbus A330.
Technical teams from Japan and South Korea are coming to Nepal for inspecting and monitoring infrastructure for conducting flights in those countries. The corporation will be permitted to conduct flights to Japan and South Korea after receiving approval from technical teams of the respective countries.
Likewise, the discussion is going on for operating flights to Riyadh, Saudi Arab. Currently, the national carrier is operating international flights with its Boeing 757, two Airbus A320 and an A330. One Airbus A320 ‘9N-AKW’ is currently grounded at Doha Hamad International Airport after encountering problem in one of its engine.
The carrier’s current international network includes routes from Kathmandu to Doha (Qatar), Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia), Hong Kong, Bangkok (Thailand) and Dubai as well to Delhi, Bangalore and Mumbai (India).
