KATHMANDU, SEPTEMBER 14
Nearly 400 passengers of two international flights of the Nepal Airlines Corporation suffered hours-long delays due to technical problems in the aircraft.
After the flight to Japan was delayed by a staggering 11 hours due to a technical glitch, another flight of the national flag carrier scheduled for Delhi was also affected and delayed by three hours. According to Spokesperson for NAC Archana Khadka, Kathmandu-Delhi flight of the corporation with 215 passengers was delayed for three hours due to a problem in the aircraft's tyre.
"Due to a problem in the tyre of widebody A330 (9N-ALZ) aircraft, the flight was delayed for three hours," Khadka said. "The flight from Kathmandu to Delhi that was scheduled to take off at 1:25pm today took off at 4:30pm following the required maintenance."
Earlier, another widebody aircraft of the NAC with 184 passengers on board took off for Narita from Kathmandu at 10:00am today following a delay of nearly 12 hours due to mechanical issues.
"The Kathmandu-Narita flight that took off at 11:00pm last night was aborted and made a safe emergency landing at Tribhuvan International Airport as fumes were coming out from its cargo hold half-an-hour into the flight," Khadka said, adding passengers on the flight were provided refreshments while they waited at TIA.
Jagannath Niraula, spokesperson for the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal, said all airlines frequently report technical problems, which are promptly resolved by technicians. "We have warned airline companies to ensure such technical issues are not repeated and directed them to thoroughly inspect the aircraft prior to each flight," Niraula said.
Out of the four aircraft that the NAC uses to operate its international flights, only three are in operation at the moment. A narrow body A320 aircraft of the corporation has been grounded for a month.
A version of this article appears in the print on September 15, 2022 of The Himalayan Times.
