Air accidents rate down, says Minister Bhattarai

Kathmandu, September 26

Minister of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Yogesh Kumar Bhattarai has asserted that the rate of air accidents in the country has gone down due to adoption of air safety measures.

Addressing the 40th session of ICAO’s assembly organised in Montreal of Canada, Minister Bhattarai explained that implementation of ICAO safety measures and upgrading of airports and taking account of the weather for operation of flights, among others, were reasons behind the decreasing number of air accidents. He apprised the participants of the event about the Visit Nepal 2020 which aims to attract at least two million tourists to Nepal in 2020.

He also extended an open invitation to fellow participants to visit Nepal, according to the Secretariat of Minister Bhattarai.

Furthermore, the Minister informed about the priorities set by his line ministry, including ensuring air safety, expanding air network, upgradation of airports and construction of international airports.

He also stated that Nepal was moving ahead hand-in-hand for collaboration with the European Air Safety Agencies to remove Nepal from the European Agency’s aviation safety list.

Representatives from ICAO’s 193 member nations and various organisations have convened in Montreal, ICAO’s headquarters, for the assembly that kicked off on September 24 and would last till October 4.

Representing Nepal in the assembly were Minister Bhattarai, Joint-Secretary of the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Civil Aviation Suresh Acharya, Nepali Ambassador to Canada Bhrigu Dhungana and Director General of the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal Rajan Pokharel among others.

On the sidelines of the event, Nepal is scheduled to sign an air service agreement with the United Arab Emirates. Talks with the Australian side will also be held during the summit to dwell on air service agreement between the two countries.