Air safety issues, frequent crashes, and lack of adequate regulations have cast a grim shadow on Nepal’s aviation sector

Kathmandu

Although air travel is considered a relatively safer means of transportation globally, Nepal has unfortunately been marred with frequent cases of airplane accidents. The country’s difficult terrain and fluctuating weather are mostly blamed for the air accidents. However, aspects such as updating advanced technology, providing safety training to all stakeholders, regular monitoring of airplanes and following air safety regulations can play a significant role in reducing the frequency of air accidents in the country.

Existing challenges

As per the data of Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN), 48 multi-engine aeroplanes and eight single-engine aeroplanes have crashed in Nepal from November 5, 1960 to June 9, 2018. Similarly, 33 helicopters have crashed from December 27, 1979 to February 27. The number of accidents of foreign registered aircraft stood at nine in between August 30, 1995 to March 12, 2018 and accidents of recreational aircraft remained three from October 3, 2013 to November 23, 2016. With this, the total number of accidents till date stands at 100 with 812 casualties altogether.

The country’s difficult terrain makes it tough for pilots to fly passengers safely to their destinations. Domestic aircraft and helicopters have to fly between steep hills and it is difficult to land safely at short takeoff and landing (STOL) airports.

“Since Nepal is a mountainous country, it has many high altitude regions, which makes air travel quite risky. Our terrain requires pilots to have years of expertise to fly over hills and mountains to become habituated with different flying situations,” says Rajan Pokharel, Director General at CAAN.

Human errors

“Through our research, we have found that the majority of air accidents take place due to pilots’ mistakes. Pilots are the ones who have to take full control of the aircraft, and the situation under control. Lack of expert pilots has severely affected the aviation sector,” says Ghanashyam Acharya, Spokesperson at Airlines Operators Association of Nepal (AOAN).

According to Acharya, in order to enhance flight safety during operation, ground training of pilots should be conducted regularly, which will provide them with various operating situations, thus infusing sufficient knowledge about flying in risky scenarios.

“Mandatory ground training in adverse weather effects of the pre-monsoon and monsoon and situational awareness help pilots to make good decisions,” he adds.

“Similarly, weak aviation regulations, use of old aircraft, lack of monsoon training, lack of coordination between air traffic control room and pilots’ over-confidence have contributed to air accidents in the country,” says Acharya.

“Hence these things need to be properly looked into by all the operators to improve the country’s air safety condition,” he adds.

Impact on tourism

The European Union (EU) banned all Nepali airlines from flying into the 28-nation bloc in 2013 citing lack of air safety in Nepal. Things can become worse with the recent high-profile helicopter crash, which killed the Minister of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Rabindra Prasad Adhikari along with other veterans of the country’s tourism sector.

Deepak Raj Joshi, CEO of Nepal Tourism Board (NTB), says, “It is a great loss to the country, which has set an ambitious goal of drawing two million tourists through  the Visit Nepal 2020 mission.”

According to him, the EU travel ban has hampered Nepal’s national flag carrier’s plans to operate wide-body aircraft to Europe and the recent air accident can further prolong the ban.

Similarly, last year’s US-Bangla Airlines plane crash at the Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) has raised big questions about the country’s sole international airport’s capability to manage air traffic properly, which can lead to foreigners doubt their safety while flying into the country. Similarly, air congestion and runway cracks have been the never-ending woes of passengers at TIA.

“To minimise the current problems, we have been upgrading the runway track and have already made terminals for parking more planes to ease air traffic. Moreover, work on three national pride projects namely the Gautam Buddha International Airport, Pokhara Regional International Airport and Nijgadh International Airport are still ongoing,” says Raj Kumar Chhetri, General Manager at TIA. According to him, upon completion of these airports, TIA will see comparatively less traffic, which will reduce managerial challenges and provide maximum safety assurance for tourists visiting the country.

Silver lining

As Nepal failed to maintain aviation safety, the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) blacklisted Nepal in July 2013 and the EU banned Nepal’s airlines from entering its airspace on December 5, 2013. However, the ICAO removed Nepal’s aviation from its blacklist on July 20, 2017, which has to some extent given relief to the country’s airline companies.

“There are many causes for airplane crashes and judging the overall sector from the mistakes of a few airline operators is not logical. The lifting of ban by ICAO clearly demonstrates our adherence to the international air safety norms,” Pokharel claims.

Similarly, according to Pokharel, CAAN has been in continuous touch with the officials of the EU and has been requesting the European Commission to review its position on Nepal’s aviation sector.

“The ICAO’s move to remove Nepal from its blacklist has already sent a positive message to the international community that our aircraft are safe to travel in, and now they should also lift the ban soon,” he adds.

“The technicians of the ground team have been regularly checking and monitoring the domestic aircraft before they take off in order to ensure safety,” adds Chhetri.

Unhealthy competition

However, it is an undeniable fact that accidents are happening indicating that our skies are unsafe and that’s due to unhealthy competition as well, as per the stakeholders.

“Many domestic airlines seem to have prioritised profit over safety issues, which has been one of the reasons for increased accident cases in the country,” says Pokharel.

“The lack of new aircraft, which are suitable for the difficult terrain of the country, is causing issues. Nepal Airlines Corporation (NAC), which is the sole national airline with long-haul flights, has been mired in managerial challenges and the government is not doing anything about it,” Acharya points out.

Due to lack of radar connectivity, pilots flying above rural areas have to rely on their own knowledge to track the route, which is very dangerous. “Keeping this in mind, we have installed traffic control towers in every airport which give pilots information about wind speed, weather pattern among other important information,” says Pokharel.

Unmanaged runways in the country’s rural airports have been one of the main hindrances in ensuring safe landing which is why “we have been paving runways at several regional airports and have been installing advanced radars and equipping  air traffic control centres with modern tools for ensuring air safety” as per Acharya.

Even post-crash investigations take a lot of time and they don’t establish the truth behind the crash, as the companies manipulate the investigations to protect themselves from being blamed.

However, Pokharel defends, “Things have changed now as investigations are done seriously and the real culprits won’t be spared.”

Improvement needed

According to Pokharel, all the airlines operating in the country need to be honest and follow international air safety norms such as not carrying passengers and goods beyond capacity, avoiding bad weather and monitoring all the activities related to air transport on a timely basis, among others.

“CAAN has strictly issued air safety regulations to all airlines operating in the country, which require them to train their overall manpower apart from conducting regular medical check-up of the flying crew. Airline companies found not following our guidelines will be punished as per the law,” he adds.

“In order to address aviation-related problems faced by the country, CAAN organised the Aviation Safety Campaign on August 12, 2018 wherein aviation experts from both Nepal and abroad shared important knowledge about the aviation sector and ways to ensure aviation safety,” says Pokharel. According to him, CAAN is currently working on development of airport infrastructure, upgrading and strengthening of communication, navigation, surveillance and air traffic management systems in all the airports in the country.