EU technical team positive about Nepal's air security

KATHMANDU, Oct 10: The technical team of the European Union (EU) is positive about Nepal's aviation security. According to the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal, the European Aviation Safety Agency (IASA) under the EU, which came to audit Nepal's aviation sector, gave a positive response to Nepal's overall air safety after a three-day audit.

However, there is a preliminary program to report to Nepal on October 28 . After the report, the authority will respond to the issues pointed out. Iyasa's technical operations team conducted an audit of Nepal's aviation sector from October 7 to October 9. The audit was done by a three-member technical team.

Jagannath Niraula, spokesperson of the Authority, expressed the belief that Nepal will soon be removed from the EU's 'aviation security list' as the technical team under the EU is positive about the condition of the Nepali airspace. He said, "Iyasa's technical team has studied and discussed the progress made by Nepal in the field of air security. After the report comes, the authority will respond to the issues pointed out in the report and after submitting the final report to the EU, the decision to remove it from the security list will be finalized.

Spokesperson Niraula said that the IASA team is satisfied with the technical study conducted by the EU's technical team and the discussion with the authority.

In the audit report of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), Nepal is said to have conducted the audit based on the fact that Nepal achieved above the global average, i.e. 70.1 percent air safety rate and air accident regulations have been passed by the Cabinet.

According to the authority, the technical team studied in eight areas including legislation, organization, personal licensing, flight operation, air navigation, accident investigation, air navigation service, aerodrome and ground aids.

The EU has kept Nepal on the 'Aviation Security List' for the past 10 years. Because of this, international airlines registered in Nepal have not been able to fly to Europe. Nepal Airlines Corporation (Nepal Airlines) and Himalaya Airlines are not allowed to fly in European skies, but European planes can use Nepalese skies easily.

Earlier, in 2013, ICAO had listed the Nepali Airlines as a serious security concern, indicating that there was an increased risk in Nepal's aviation security. Later in 2017, ICAO removed Nepal from the security list saying that it had made progress. Currently, the global air safety rating of the Asia Pacific region has reached 67.

In the latest audit conducted by ICAO, Nepalese skies are seen to be safe. In ICAO's safety audit, Nepal scored 70.1 percent.

Spokesman Niraula clarified that since the security concerns raised by the EU have been addressed and Nepal's air security situation has improved, this time Nepal will be removed from the EU's security list. He said, "Now Nepal will be removed from the security list of the EU. We have made significant progress in air safety. Many other things have improved.”

ICAO regularly assesses the aviation safety status of its member countries under the global aviation safety supervision. According to the authority, the authority has also amended the regulations so as not to transfer employees in the regulatory and service-providing bodies. Spokesman Niraula mentioned that it was a great achievement that the staff in the regulatory body were not transferred to the service provider.

The EU was interested in dividing the authority into a regulator and a service provider. He made it clear that institutional division is not a prerequisite for the EU, so there will be no institutional division.