The Tourism Ministry forwarded the draught civil aviation bills to the cabinet in July, two months before the European Union Aviation Safety Agency scheduled a safety examination of Nepal’s aviation system, asking for their “approval in principle” to be tabled in Parliament.It was an obvious message. If the civil aviation legislation are passed, Nepal will have an independent regulator and will no longer be on the air safety list, which has severely harmed the country’s tourism sector and given it a bad reputation for aviation safety.
The draft bills, already passed by the upper house and dropped by the lower house following a change in government, were abruptly halted by the Pushpa Kamal Dahal administration.These two long-pending aviation bills—the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal Bill and the Air Service Authority of Nepal Bill—envisage splitting Nepal’s aviation body into two entities—service provider and regulator, a condition for Nepal to be struck off the air safety list.
Multiple sources whom the Post talked to say that the bill’s passage was stopped by Pradip Adhikari, director general of the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal, after he assured the prime minister and other political leaders that the European Commission (EC), part of the European Union executive, would lift the ban this time. On Thursday, the EC decided to continue its ban on Nepali airlines through an updated the “EU Air Safety List,” the list of non-European airlines that do not meet international safety standards and are therefore subject to an operating ban or operational restrictions within the European Union.
The EU Air Safety List is based on the unanimous opinion of member states’ aviation safety experts, who met in Brussels on November 14-16 under the auspices of the EU Air Safety Committee.The decision keeps Nepal in the EC’s bad books, now for 11 years in a row.This speaks volumes about the negligence that has resulted from the corrupt system, insiders say. “This will eventually destroy the tourism industry,” a private airline official said.
In its update, the EC said it decided to maintain the ban on air carriers certified in Nepal because of continued safety concerns identified during an assessment visit to Nepal on September 11-15.It, however, said that the Nepal Civil Aviation Authority’s proactive engagement and ongoing efforts to enhance its safety oversight capacity were duly acknowledged during the EU Air Safety Committee meeting.In a separate note issued to the civil aviation body, which the Post has obtained, the EC said, “In view of the safety deficiencies identified during the visit, concerns remain about the current capacity of CAAN to properly discharge the responsibility required by relevant international safety standards.”
The note added, “It is essential that CAAN, Shree Airlines and Nepal Airlines develop and implement comprehensive corrective action plans. These plans should prioritise two key objectives—firstly, consistent application of root cause analysis principles to address the observations identified during the on-site assessment visit and, secondly, establishing specific action for each of the identified root causes.”
Experts say that the message is clear. The EC is concerned with the current capacity of CAAN as well as its responsibility. “We cannot blame airlines when the role of the regulator itself has come under question,” an aviation expert said.For a long time—over 15 years—global aviation watchdogs have questioned the civil aviation body’s dual role and urged Nepal to split the organisation into two entities—service provider and regulator—to enhance the safety of flyers.However, the government has shown no interest in doing so, and Nepal’s aviation industry is suffering as a result.
“In the second innings [of the bills] too, we made a lot of effort to table the bills in the Cabinet. The Finance Ministry sat on them for three months when they were sent for comments. Then, it was with the law ministry for another three months,” two sources familiar with the matter at the Tourism Ministry told the Post.“After receiving nods from the Law and Finance ministries, the draft bills landed at the prime minister’s office. And they are still there.”
“The prime minister has not asked the chief secretary to table the bills [in the Cabinet].”Sanjiv Gautam, former director general of the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal, said: “It’s the prime minister who should be held accountable this time as it was him who blocked the passage of the bills.”“Everyone should know why the bills are being held back. What’s the reason and motive behind it?” questioned Gautam.In December 2013, the European Commission imposed a blanket ban on all Nepali airlines from flying into the 28-nation bloc.
Source: Here
