Corporation, which is burdened with a debt of 52 billion, loses another 100 million
What you should know
Both narrow-body aircraft of Nepal Airlines Corporation have been grounded. The corporation currently has four aircraft. Two narrow-body and two wide-body. However, after both of these narrow-body aircraft were grounded simultaneously, the corporation's international flight schedule has been disrupted since the last week of December. The corporation's narrow-body aircraft named 'Sagarmatha' was grounded due to technical problems after returning to Kathmandu from Bangkok on Friday night.
After the flight was canceled, 105 passengers bound for Guangzhou, China, had to be returned to their hotels from the airport at the last minute on Friday night. Passengers were outraged that the flight was canceled even after they were allowed to enter the final waiting room (sterile hall) of the airport after check-in.
Videos related to this have been widely shared on social media. There were also incidents of abuse and assault on NAC employees during the cancellation of the flight. NAC shift in-charge Vijay Adhikari was assaulted in front of the airport police when the flight to China was canceled.
Dozens of flights have been canceled since one narrow-body ‘Lumbini’ was grounded in Israel on 14th Pus for engine replacement, while another narrow-body ‘Sagarmatha’ was also grounded. Since both narrow-body flights were not available at the same time, the NAC canceled flights to Bengaluru on 26th Pus, Hong Kong on 29th Pus, Bangkok and Dubai on 30th Pus due to lack of aircraft.
According to a manager of the corporation, the corporation has lost business of at least 1,000 passengers in both directions due to the cancellation of the flight. He claims that the corporation, which is burdened with debt, has suffered a loss of about 100 million rupees. The corporation already has a debt of 52 billion rupees due to the purchase of narrow-body and wide-body aircraft.
The corporation only flew passengers to Guangzhou 12 hours later on Saturday. In Guangzhou, 130 passengers were also accommodated in hotels at the corporation's expense. The corporation has stated that the ticket prices of 88 passengers who were supposed to go to Hong Kong and 76 passengers who were supposed to return to Nepal from there have been fully refunded due to the lack of aircraft.
Meanwhile, the wide-body aircraft that was supposed to leave for Delhi at 1:45 pm on Saturday took off only at 7 pm, leaving 226 passengers stranded at the airport for at least 7 hours. 205 passengers who were supposed to come to Nepal from Delhi also suffered the same ordeal. According to the technical spokesperson of the corporation, Devendra Pun, the 'Sagarmatha' aircraft, which broke down on Friday, was repaired in three days and sent on a flight to Mumbai at 2 pm on Sunday. Another narrow-body aircraft that reached Israel is scheduled to return to Nepal on Monday, says General Manager Amritman Shrestha.
Spokesperson Pun says that the arrival of the aircraft will improve the flight schedule of the corporation's 10 destinations. After the narrow-body aircraft is not operational, the corporation is forced to use both wide-body aircraft that fly long distances, including to Japan, on short-distance flights. According to the corporation's engineers, this has created serious pressure on the wide-body engine.
The total flight cycles of the corporation's wide-body aircraft are 6,000. Currently, only about 500 of the 'Alfa Lima Yankee' wide-body aircraft and about 800 of the 'Alfa Lima Zulu' wide-body aircraft are left. It is the turn of both aircraft to undergo an engine 'overhaul' next month. According to a director of the corporation, using the wide-body aircraft on short distances will end the flight cycle quickly and this will cause further financial loss to the corporation.
The corporation had signed a contract with an Israeli company in Bhadra 2080 for the overhaul and repair of four engines of its narrow-body aircraft. However, due to the war, the corporation's narrow-body aircraft was grounded in Israel for more than three months. The corporation had to face delays in engine repairs due to the Israel-Hamas war. The then chairman Yuvraj Adhikari demanded compensation for the delay, saying that the corporation had suffered a loss of crores of rupees, and a dispute arose between the two parties over the payment for engine repairs.
The dispute arose between the two parties as there was no clear provision for emergencies such as war in the repair agreement. Due to which the corporation had to pay an additional Rs 400 million by installing rented engines. When the dispute reached its peak, the Israeli company sent a letter warning that it would ground the corporation's narrow-body aircraft, citing the delay in payment. Prime Minister Sushila Karki immediately intervened and directed that the outstanding payments be managed immediately.
She also changed the leadership of the corporation to end the payment dispute and appointed board member Amritman Shrestha as the general manager. According to a high-ranking source in the corporation, the corporation has already paid Rs 3.3 billion a few days ago, including Rs 1.08 billion for the first engine repair, Rs 1.11 billion for the second engine repair, and Rs 390 million for the rented engine.
