Namaste Air shelves plan to operate flights

KATHMANDU, Oct 1: Namaste Air, which had unveiled to start scheduled flights before Dashain, has apparently dropped its plan.



The airline is the process of entering into an agreement with Simrik Air as per which the latter will operate its entire fleet, according to an official of Namaste Air.



Raju KC, executive chairman of Namaste Air, confirmed the development. “We tried our best to operate flights. But the problems regarding Air Operator Certificate (AOC) compelled us to drop our plan," said KC. [break]



The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) - the aviation service regulator - had revoked the AOC of Namaste Air in July, stating that the airline did not follow the Air Operator Certificate Regulation 2012 (AOCR 2012). Namaste was in the process of renewing AOC after the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation (MoCTCA) overruled CAAN´s decision.



In May, Namaste had signed an agreement with Agni Air to operate its two Dornier and three Jetstream 41 aircraft for five years.

Namaste Air had taken fee ranging from Rs 1-2 million as training free from individuals who had applied for various vacant posts at the airline. According to the airline sources, around 30 persons had paid the amount to the airline.



Priya Aryal, who had applied for co-pilot, paid Rs 1 million to the airline. “But the airline didn´t send us for training. The management today (Tuesday) informed that it won´t be operating and that it has sold all its aircraft to Simrik Air,” said Aryal.



The official of Namaste Air said the airline had already refunded the training fee along with interest to all the applicants.

“We´ve been told to cash the check only after Namaste Air gets money from Simrik Air,” Aryal said, adding that the amount mentioned in the check also includes some interest amount.



Issuing a press statement in May, Namaste Air had said that Agni´s Dornier aircraft will come into operation from June and Jetstream aircraft by July-end under its management.

Namaste Air, promoted by a group of investors from Pokhara, had said that it would operate flights to Pokhara, Bhadrapur, Biratnagar, Nepalgunj, Bhairahawa, Jomsom, Lukla, Dhangadhi and Bharatpur as well as mountain flights.

It also had unveiled plans to add two ATR 72 aircraft in its fleet.

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