CAAN stops all Guna Airlines flights until further notice

Published On: February 20, 2023 04:05 PM NPT By: Republica | @RepublicaNepal

KATHMANDU, Feb 20: The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) has suspended all flights of Guna Airlines. The authority has stopped the flights stating that the company has not paid salaries to its employees in recent times and there are arrears of various sectors of the company.

CAAN Spokesperson Jagannath Niraula said that the air safety department has suspended the flight for the time being after raising questions about the reliability of the passenger service. He said that the authority wrote to the company on Monday not to fly immediately.

“It seems that the financial situation of the company is weak and there are arrears of employees and various sectors in the company. In such a situation, it was seen that the flight safety of the airlines will be affected. Keeping in mind the safety of passengers, we have suspended the Guna Airlines flights until further notice," spokesperson Niraula said.

Meanwhile, the airline has said that it has not received any flight suspension letter from CAAN. Spokesman Prajwal Thapa said regular flights were affected due to pilot training and shortage of spare parts. "We have stopped the flight for our own reasons at present. No official letter has come from the authority," Spokesperson Thapa said. "We were preparing to fly regularly from Monday. However, due to some reason, it was not possible to fly.”

Real estate businessman Rajendra Shakya (Dijendra) brought this airline back into operation two years ago. Shakya, who rose in the real estate business, revived this airline with an investment of one billion rupees. He bought five jet stream planes of Yeti Airlines for one billion rupees and brought the company back into operation.

Shakya, who had invested billions in real estate and share trading since 2064 BS, was caught in a financial crisis due to the policies introduced by the Nepal Rastra Bank. He had ambitiously promoted the airline company by managing finances for 15 years, but is in trouble with the authority's present decision.