The national flag-carrier, Nepal Airlines Corporation (NAC), is in huge trouble. It literally has no aircraft to conduct either domestic or international flights. Some of the airline's aircraft are out of order and are grounded while others are abroad, awaiting C-checks and other kinds of inspections and maintenance. Just imagine the present state of this most beleaguered airline- even the most optimistic travel blogger would say ‘it’s got no chance’! Yes, dear readers, Nepal might be waving its national flag high, but the flag-carrier has forgotten how to fly! What once used to be a proud carrier, the NAC has now transformed into a tragicomedy of errors. And mind you, it is marring not just its credibility and reputation but the country's international image as well.

There was a time when the NAC, known as RNAC in the old days, where 'R' stood for royal, which was removed from the corporation's name after the political change of 2006, stood for quality. Apparently, with the removal of 'royal' from its name, the airline's 'royal' days were gone too! At one point in time, it was flying high, turning out to be the country's biggest employer and highest foreign currency earner. However, it has been brought down by political intervention, lack of efficient leadership, mismanagement, and corruption. Defaults on its interest and installment repayment to lenders began for the first time in its 66-year-old history five years ago in 2019, chief among them the Employee Provident Fund (EPF) and the Citizen Investment Trust. Today, its total debt burden stands at a whopping Rs 51 billion. In the last six years, the NAC has done business worth Rs 96 billion but this sum falls short of even repaying the loan of the airline that owes Rs 30 billion to the EPF alone.

This was not always the case with the NAC. In its heyday in the 1980s, it was a leading airline in the region. Equipped with 19 aircraft comprising a dazzling array of twin-otters and Boeing 727s and 757s, the RNAC was flying high, serving 38 domestic and over a dozen international destinations. It could boast of being envied by airlines in the region. By 1989, passengers used to fly the RNAC to major cities in India like Delhi, Kolkata, Patna, Mumbai, and Bengaluru. Other international destinations included Singapore, Bangkok, Dhaka, Karachi, Colombo, Dubai, Frankfurt, London, Paris, Osaka, Shanghai and Hong Kong.

Fast track to today and the NAC's current status resembles more of an aviation afterthought. The fleet for the airline has dropped down to a laughable four planes that fly internationally and just two domestically. Of the international aircraft, two are wide-body and two narrow-body aircraft. And here's the kicker: One of them has been stranded in Italy for over two months now, not on any Italian sightseeing stop-over, but rather going through a never-ending C-check! You might get the feeling that it went on some sort of European vacation as opposed to being on a maintenance stop. NAC officials are saying that this aircraft will soon be brought back from Italy, but it would be wise to believe it only once it actually happens. The other wide-body aircraft recently joined its counterpart in Italy for an extended stay. It’s as if it has kept Italy as its permanent residence and is sitting over there enjoying pasta and gelato instead of flying! Only Lord Pashupatinath knows when these planes will come back home! Also, out of the two twin-otters meant for domestic flights, one is grounded while the other does not often fly because it needs to be repaired!

That's not all. En-route to Hong Kong, one of the two narrow-body aircraft, Sagarmatha, of the NAC was scheduled to whisk 156 passengers on August 27, 2024. Getting a little ahead of itself like it always does, the plane called off the flight at the eleventh hour. While passengers scrambled for star hotels as their accommodation in Kathmandu, the lucky few in Hong Kong had to bear a similar fate! Some of them, for whom business was more urgent, had their luck rerouted on other airlines, but the rest? Well, they got a VIP experience in Hong Kong's finest hotels because of the NAC's "unique" way of doing things!

What was the cause of this mayhem? Negligence over repairs! Apparently, some cheap market glue had been used to repair the hydraulic system of the aircraft. Yes, you heard it right-cheap glue! It is as if the airline's approach towards repairs was "if it sticks, it flies!" Apparently, "Happy passengers, outstanding service", the current slogan of the NAC, is what they are working towards, instead of what it actually is. Realistically, the NAC slogan can very easily be "Surprise! You're not going anywhere!"

Flights have been aborted numerous times; sometimes due to the non-availability of pilots and sometimes due to the lack of spare tires! Sometimes passengers are asked to disembark minutes before takeoff. As the airline has failed to follow its flight schedule, not only international but domestic passengers also have begun to lose trust in it. In 2023, Nepal’s domestic airlines carried more than 4.1 million people. Of this figure, only about 13,000 passengers were handled by the NAC!

The national flag carrier's fleet of aircraft, which should have been serving the skies, has remained firmly on the ground - a bunch of rusting relics! Brought in from China, five aircraft meant for domestic services have been languishing in NAC's hangar for four years. Attempts to auction them off have fallen on deaf ears, and it would appear nobody wants to buy what is basically a graveyard of planes that have hardly flown. One would ask what led the NAC to procure these Chinese aircraft - oh, maybe a misguided attempt to expand their collection of aviation antiques!

Hardly anyone disagrees that political interference, mismanagement, and corruption have pushed the national flag carrier into its sorry state today, especially after the political change of 1990. The lucrative airline has become a haven for corruption, cronyism, and nepotism with the multi-party system back in force after the restoration of democracy in 1990. Politicians interfere regularly with its management for kickbacks and patronage.

In fact, the history of the NAC is replete with corruption scams, the latest being the 'Wide-body Scam'. The Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) has prosecuted 32 people – 24 Nepalis including a minister, secretaries and high-level NAC officials, and eight foreigners – accusing them of embezzling Rs 1.5 billion while procuring two wide-body aircraft for the airline. The rumor mills whisper that even high-profile figures such as the current Prime Minister KP Oli and former prime minister Sher Bahadur Deuba have their names linked to these shenanigans!

The NAC has more than its fair share of corruption scandals. Take, for instance, the Dhamija Scam of the early 1990s, which sounds like it was plucked from some high-stakes heist film. Cue Dinesh Dhamija, a British-Indian businessman, a smooth talker who could sell ice to an Eskimo! Dhamija was as close as a fitted glove to the then prime minister Girija Prasad Koirala and was subsequently appointed the general sales agent for the NAC's European operations. But about as subtle as a deal that packs the punch of a sledgehammer to the face! The induction of Dhamija was supposed to be a strategic masterstroke but proved to be a PR disaster. The scandal tainted not just the airline's image but also brought forth a kind of nepotism and cronyism that would make even a seasoned political operative blush. Dhamija, who eventually came out victorious from a court battle against the NAC, emerged as a symbol of how crony capitalism can turn even the most mundane business transaction into a grand spectacle of corruption! 

Then there was the Chase Air Scam of 1997 when the NAC reportedly lost USD 783,750 on a phantom Boeing 757. The aircraft never materialized, much like the conjuror's assistant, and the money disappeared, seemingly spirited away by some sort of sleight of hand. It was the financial vanishing trick of all time, with people scratching their heads left at their wit's end as to how such a large sum of money could disappear into the wind!

Although the CIAA, in the aftermath of the scandal, recommended that all leases be conducted through a tender system, in 1999 another case of underhand deal in leasing an aircraft from China by the then UML leader and civil aviation minister Bhim Rawal came to light, known as the South China West scam. Though the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of parliament recommended action against Rawal, he was never booked.

But arguably the most infamous scandal was the Lauda Air scam that saw Koirala resign as PM. In 2001, the Koirala-led government had leased a 12-year-old Boeing 767 from the Austria-based Lauda Air on personal negotiation, contrary to the directive issued by the PAC. The government forced the central bank to release USD 1 million as an advance payment to Lauda Air without confirmation from Austria. Media reports at that time had stated that the flying hours would yield USD 400 as commission, per hour, to the airline officials, government bureaucrats and political figures, totaling Rs 160 million for the lease period of 18 months. This contract carried all the connotations of a back-alley transaction, which cost about Rs 335 million in losses.

The ineptitude of what the government has done so far to solve the problems of the NAC is reflected in the carrier’s current state and has been as effective as carrying water in a sieve. With the change of every civil aviation minister, a new committee is set up to find solutions for this airline's numerous problems. Nine such committees and task forces have given recommendations, each more encouraging than the previous one. Yet, despite these efforts, the NAC has continued its downward spiral, testifying to the inefficacy of bureaucratic hand wringing.

In short, the saga of NAC epitomizes such a fine blend of political intervention, mismanagement and corruption to which it also gained a fair deal of raw bad luck. What this means, in other words, is a story that can well be used to create some sort of thrilling drama series but which, alas, turns out to be altogether far closer to real life than fiction! This airline going from being a regional leader to a cautionary tale should stand as a reminder of what happens when political interference meets poor management!

And yet, despite several inquiries and committees that have attempted to untangle the mess, the NAC's problems continue unabated - like some kind of bad soap opera that does not appear to have an end. A new committee emerges with much fanfare and lofty promises only to turn out as effective as a screen door on a submarine! Therein, recommendations pile up, but like the unsolved mysteries of Agatha Christie, the airline nevertheless continues to plummet freely into disastrous depths.

So here's to the Nepal Airlines - may you one day rise from the ashes of your self-inflicted misfortunes, and may your planes eventually remember their primary function: flying. Till then, may Lord Pashupatinath grant you the miracle you so desperately need, or at least a decent set of functioning aircraft! 

 
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