KATHMANDU: The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN), the civil aviation regulatory body, today handed over a call sign of 9N-AKQ to Nepal Airlines Corporation (NAC)’s new aircraft, formally completing the registration process of the China-made airplane.
The call sign was extended amidst push made by the anti-corruption watchdog to expedite the process of launching the commercial operation of MA60, an aircraft manufactured by China-based Avic International Holding.
The Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) had first summoned high-ranking officials of NAC, CAAN and the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation (MoCTCA) on May 30 and sought clarification on the delay in commercial operation of the aircraft, which had landed in Nepal on April 27.
Then on June 4 it warned to take action against concerned NAC officials if they fail to start the operation within June 15. However, following request made by MoCTCA Secretary Sushil Ghimire and top brass of CAAN and NAC to postpone the maiden commercial flight date to June 29, the CIAA today issued a notice saying the deadline for commercial operation of MA60 has been extended to June 29.
“This is the last time we are extending the deadline. Action will be taken against concerned NAC officials, if they fail to start commercial operation by then,” says the statement.
NAC Spokesperson Ram Hari Sharma said that the company is all set to meet the deadline, as the ‘tedious process of registering the aircraft in the country has finally been completed’.
NAC was trying to attain the call sign ever since the aircraft was brought to Nepal. However, it had failed to do so due to delay in the process of de-registering the aircraft in China and submission of other documents.
“We have finally crossed one of the hurdles by obtaining the call sign,” Sharma said.
NAC will now focus on obtaining the air worthiness certificate.
During this process, the operation and maintenance manuals, coupled with evacuation plans, of the new aircraft would be scrutinized by CAAN.
“Test flights would also be conducted during this phase using two instructor pilots who have arrived from China,” Sharma said. Also, engineers who are certified in maintaining MA60 will start providing training to Nepali engineers.
Once the air-worthiness certificate is issued, NAC will start the process of acquiring radio mobile licence.
Finally, NAC will apply to upgrade the Air Operator Certificate (AOC) — a process under which the name of the new aircraft will be added to NAC’s existing AOC. Once the AOC is upgraded, the state-owned airline company will finally be able to start commercial operation of MA60.
http://www.thehimalayantimes.com
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