Parliamentary committee instructions to make an action plan to remove Nepal from EU's security list

KATHMANDU, Dec 29:The House International Relations and Tourism Committee has asked the Ministry of Culture, Tourism, and Civil Aviation to draft the necessary action plan to remove Nepal's aviation sector from the European Union's (EU) security list.

The committee met on Thursday with Sudan Kirati, Minister of Tourism and Civil Aviation, and Pradeep Adhikari, Director General of the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN).

It has been ten years since Nepal was included on the EU's security list. Although he stated that he wanted to increase aviation security, the expected improvement has not occurred. In August, the EU team last examined Nepal's airspace. During the audit, he noted that, while there has been some improvement in aviation safety, the CAAN and Nepal Airlines Corporation still have flaws.

The committee has also directed that a separate policy on air flight safety be developed. The air policy established in 2022 is now being implemented. The committee has also directed the government to submit to the federal parliament as soon as possible the bill to revise and unify the authority's laws, as well as the bill to form and control the Nepal Air Service Authority.

Although the administration introduced both of these legislation during the last legislative session, they remained inactive when the House of Representatives' tenure expired on September 17, 2022.