CAAN suspends flights of four heli companies for not clearing arrears

KATHMANDU, August 11: The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal has indefinitely suspended the flights of all helicopter companies that have not paid the outstanding dues to the authority.
Sources inform that the authority has decided to stop the flights of helicopters that are in arrears for the financial year 2022/23 from Friday, stating that allowing them to fly amid financial problems will pose a challenge to air safety.
The authority has suspended the flights of Mountain Helicopters, Prabhu Helicopters, Fishtail Air, and Simrik Air indefinitely from Friday.
According to CAAN, the four companies have yet to pay Rs 21.3 million in outstanding dues. The authority is yet to collect Rs 9.14 million in dues from Mountain Helicopters, over Rs 1.54 million from Prabhu Helicopters, Rs 6.24 million from Fishtail Air, and over Rs 4.6 million from Simrik Air.  
According to the order given in the Airport Service Charges List 2078, the helicopter company that is yet to pay the arrears has been stopped for an indefinite period from flying other than rescue flights.
The Authority's team found that various helicopter companies were in serious financial trouble during the 'financial audit'. As their 'financial health' is not good, aviation safety will be affected, and flights have been banned indefinitely.