After the numerous requests of Nepal government to remove Nepalese airlines from the blacklists, Representatives of European Union (EU) will be visiting Nepal to audit the safety aspects of aviation.
The government has been working to remove Nepal from blacklist once EU listed Nepal in the list of the flight restrictions.
Rabindra Adhikari, Minister of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation (MoCTCA) stated that while keeping Nepal in blacklists, Nepal airline corporation (NAC)’s business expansion and Nepal Tourism Year 2020 will be affected.
Though International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) removed Nepali carrier from significant safety Concern (SSC), it is unfair to list Nepal still in the flight restrictions by EU, said Tourism Minister. “We have requested EU officials and diplomatic regulations to remove from the blacklists”, he added.
According to that, EU officials are coming to study Nepal’s air security situation.
“The EU has demanded to submit a paper on air security in the first phase,” said Sanjeev Gautam, Director General of Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN), “After the paper study, EU will be arriving Nepal.”
According to him, EU has directed to send 40 different documents within a week. Despite of the improvement in air security of Nepal, EU has remain unsatisfied saying that the improvement is not enough yet. Likewise, EU also said that the regulatory body lacked paying attention to security.
However, Nepal has been expecting something great news in aviation sector from EU as ICAO removes Nepali carrier from significant safety Concern.
According to Minister Adhikari, the work is being done under the EU criteria since 5 years.
In 2013, ICAO’s team audit showed 55 per cent of Nepal’s flight safety. In 2017, the flight safety criteria also increased to 67 percent. The average global rate is 63 percent.
According to Gautam, after EU’s team coming to Nepal and studying air security, it is likely to remove Nepal from blacklist. EU publish lists every 6 months.
EC banned Nepali carriers preventing them from flying to Europe’s Air Space. ICAO had suggested splitting CAAN to make the aviation sector more efficient and the government has been working to amend the new law for about a decade now.
