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EU To Lift Ban On Nepalese Aircrafts To Fly In European Airspace
By KTM Metro Reporter
December 13, 2013: a week after banning all Nepalese aircrafts on entering the European skies, the European Commission (EC) has hinted at showing some flexibility following the criticism of its decision from all quarters including the Nepalese government, according to the Xinhua news.
In the letter sent to the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN), the EC said that it would send a team of experts to judge the real air safety provided by the CAAN and other private air-service companies.
"We received a letter from EC on Tuesday in which it has said to send a team to Nepal to get the first hand information on the initiatives we have been making to enhance Nepal's air safety situation," CAAN Director General Ratish Chandra Lal Suman told Xinhua yesterday.
He said his organization would soon set a date to call the EC team after holding talks with the government and private sector aviation service providers. "The team will inspect the situation of air safety of all airlines companies, both private and government," added Suman. The European team will firstly inspect air safety measures adopted by the CAAN and will spend each day to judge the air safety of private companies.
In a statement issues on Thursday, December 5, 2013, the EC had put all of Nepali air carriers on the European Union's air-safety list, a move that will effectively bar the Nepali planes from flying into European countries.
CAAN officials said during the inspection, if the EC finds the air safety situation of any company unsatisfactory, it would continue the ban on them, while the ban will be rolled back on those companies whose safety situation is satisfactory.
They also said that the EC also would introduce a separate project for Nepal to help the country strengthen its air safety after the EC finally decides whether to continue the ban or roll it back.
On Tuesday, the Aviation Ministry also announced to make diplomatic efforts on persuading the EC to revoke its recent decision. However, following the EC's letter, the ministry has not mentioned anything about going ahead with its plan or to revoke it.
