KATHMANDU, DECEMBER 6

The European Union has hinted at the possibility of Nepal being removed from its aviation safety list in the near future, provided that the country adopts new aviation rules.

Lauding the efforts undertaken by the country to address the challenges of aviation safety, notably the proposed new aviation legislation currently before the Parliament, the EU has said, “It would be key for this legislation to be adopted by the Parliament and subsequently implemented. This would allow the Commission to advance with the process of eventually removing Nepal from the EU air safety list.”

The processes will include a technical meeting (in Brussels) with the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal to review the progress made, a subsequent on-site visit to Nepal by DG MOVE, EASA, and air safety experts from member states. As per the EU, site visit is needed in order to make a determination about the effective implementation of the safety enhancements. Similarly, the third process will be enacting the eventual removal from the EU Air Safety List by way of a Commission proposal to be endorsed by the EU Air Safety Committee.

The EU statement has been issued as ‘European Union and its member states congratulate Nepal for International Civil Aviation Day’, which is being celebrated on Monday.