KATHMANDU:  At a time when the Nepal Airlines Corporation (NAC) is reported to have been struggling hard to manage its smooth internal operation, three senior directors of the national flag-carrier left for China on Saturday for what they called a 10-day inspection tour.

According to NAC sources, Director at the Engineering Maintenance Department Sankar Karanjit, Director at Airworthiness Management Department Karna Bahadur Thapa and Director at Quality Assurance and Flight Safety Department Rabin Pradhan left for China to visit some units of the Aviation Industry Corporation (AVIC) of China.

Three department heads left for China upon the invitation of AVIC this afternoon despite that the NAC is facing a crisis of trained hands to repair its ill-fated aircraft in New Delhi.

The NAC’s Airbus 320 has been grounded at New Delhi-based Indira Gandhi International Airport after the 9N-AKW aircraft suffered a tyre burst along with other technical problems on its flaps and auto–pilot system on Sunday.

Confirming that the department chiefs left for China, NAC’s spokesperson Ram Hari Sharma, however, claimed that their visit would not affect the day-to-day operation of the national flag-carrier.

A senior official, on the other hand, said it would have adverse impacts on the functioning.