NAC's 'convincing reply' sought on narrow body plane repair

KATHMANDU, April 01: The International Relations and Tourism Committee under the House of Representatives has directed the Nepal Airlines Corporation (NAC) to provide it with documents concerning the maintenance of a narrow-body aircraft within the next 15 days.     

A meeting of the Committee held in Singha Durbar today wants the national flag carrier to submit a convincing reply regarding the aircraft repair.     

Committee President Raj Kishore Yadav said the Committee is informed about the alleged corruption during the repair of the aircraft's engine and in this context, the NOC should convince the Committee with a substantive reply that there is no corruption during the maintenance.     

The NAC sent its narrow body to Israel on January 11 for repair. The plane was grounded on December 1, 2023. According to the NOC, Israel-based MRO Company assured that the plane will arrive in Kathmandu by April 28.     

During the meeting, lawmakers expressed their concern stating that it has been over four months since the aircraft was sent for engine repair and a delay in its arrival has affected the NOC flight schedule.     

They demanded the formation of a separate committee to probe the matter.     

Lawmakers Bhim Prasad Acharya, Sunita Baral, Shishir Khanal, Damodar Paudel Bairagi, Uday Shamsher JB Rana, Prem Suwal, Eknath Dhakal, Yogesh Gauchan Thakali and Dr Dhawal Shamsher JB Rana advised the NC to prepare an action plan for its restructuring, to control irregularities reported inside the NOC and make its service swift and effective.     

 Stating that disputes between the NOC and Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) have negatively affected the aviation and the entire tourism industry, he urged effective cooperation and collaboration between the two institutes to make ground from removing Nepal's airlines from the European Union (EU)'s blacklist and for enhancing the reliability of NOC services.     

Minister for Culture and Tourism and Civil Aviation, Hit Bahadur Tamang, assured of action if any wrongdoing is proved on the part of NOC. As he said, he is studying the issue.     

NOC executive chair Yubaraj Adhikari said the repair of the narrow body follows the rules.