KATHMANDU, JULY 13
Airline operators have expressed strong reservations against the decisions of the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal to address the recurring issues in the aviation sector.
While airline operators are willing to coordinate with the regulatory body to strengthen air safety and curb air accidents, the reactive decisions following the fatal crash of a Manang Air helicopter without discussions with stakeholders is a matter of concern, airline operators say.
"Any airline company operating in the country will have a team of experts working with or for the company.
One of the reasons why airline operators allot some shares to some of their pilots is to motivate them to continue working within the country and utilise their expertise to strengthen the flight safety aspect in the aviation sector," explained Nima Nuru Sherpa, vice-president of Airline Operators of Nepal and managing director of Altitude Air. According to him, the number of Nepali pilots migrating abroad is on the rise.
One of CAAN's decisions was to prohibit flight crew members having share in the company from exercising the privileges of their licence for all types of commercial flights.
Gyanendra Bhul, information officer at CAAN, clarified that the provision had to be introduced to enhance air safety because the same person serving as a manager and pilot can affect performance, the new provision is expected to prevent conflict of interest.
He also said that active pilots who have a share in a company cannot fly for the same company but will be able to fly for another company.
According to CAAN, as many as 11 pilots hold shares in eight companies that they fly for.However, Sherpa refuted the allegations that airlines were compromising safety for profit. "If we look at the recent helicopter crashes none of the pilots involved in the accidents of Heli Everest, Simrik Air, and Dynasty Air were shareholders of the company," he reasoned.
Other decisions taken by CAAN that have not gone down well with the airline operators include restrictions on mountain flights and sling flights.
"The weather can become erratic during the monsoon season in Nepal.
As helicopters are operated by following visual flight rules, they have to fly at low altitude and can come in contact with low hanging clouds. And since the monsoon is also a low tourism season, we have focused on mitigating air accidents," Bhul said.
Sherpa, meanwhile, argued that such an ad-hoc decision to halt certain operations till September was unfair for the operators and that would make it difficult for them to sustain.
According to Bhul, CAAN is not turning a deaf ear to the concerns of airline companies. "We will move forward by conducting periodic review of the implemented rules. As a single incident can send a negative message in relation to Nepal's aviation sector, the regulatory body and the airlines must have the common target of zero air accidents," he said CAAN has also announced that either the point of origin or destination during helicopter operations must be an aerodrome. A key change is the centralisation of permission for helicopter operations, including rescue flights, at the Air Transport Department, which will help to ensure that all helicopter flights are properly reviewed and approved before they are allowed to take off.
A version of this article appears in the print on July 14, 2023, of The Himalayan Times.
