Kathmandu, April 21

The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) has extended the deadline for pilots, crew members, engineers and other technical persons to renew their respective licences.

Those aviation workers whose licence has expired can renew their licence till May 26. This is the second time that CAAN has extended the deadline. Prior to this, the aviation sector regulatory body had extended the deadline for renewal of licences till April 26. However, the government later extended the lockdown and announced all flights would be suspended till April 30.

Considering the situation, CAAN has decided to extend the deadline for aviation workers to renew their licence, said Raju Shrestha, aviation safety director of CAAN. “Due to the lockdown, pilots, crew members and engineers are unable to renew their licence, so CAAN has decided to extend the deadline till May 26,” he said, adding, “Even the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) has requested its member countries to add validation date on licences of aviation workers. Other member countries are also doing the same.”

The global lockdown and travel bans have affected the entire aviation industry. Thus, ICAO has requested all member countries to take care of the aviation workers as well as extend the validation of their licence, Shrestha added.

He further said that all the airline companies had been urged to facilitate the pilots, crew members and engineers to renew their licence within the decided timeframe. Likewise, technical personals, including air traffic controllers and flight dispatchers, can also renew their licence by the aforementioned deadline.

A version of this article appears in print on April 22, 2020 of The Himalayan Times.