NAC's int’l flights affected as one of its aircraft is grounded in Dubai

Published On: February 28, 2023 03:15 PM NPT By: Republica | @RepublicaNepal

KATHMANDU, Feb 28: International flights of Nepal Airlines Corporation (NAC) have been affected after one of its aircraft is grounded in Dubai.

The NAC's Airbus-A320 has been grounded in Dubai since Sunday after it experienced technical problems. This has left all international flights of NAC badly affected.

"In Dubai, engineers have started looking into the technical problems of the aircraft. It is not yet known what has happened," said an employee at the NAC. "There may be some changes in the NAC's flight schedule until the aircraft is repaired."

He said that as one of the four aircraft with the NAC was grounded, the scheduled flights to various international destinations were affected. According to him, the NAC has been taking assistance from other airlines including Fly Dubai for passengers who have already booked their tickets.

He said that although the flights have been delayed, none of the flights to NAC’s destinations have been canceled so far.

The NAC's 9N-AKX call sign vessel remains grounded in Dubai since Sunday due to a technical problem in the aircraft while it was preparing to fly to Kathmandu.

“It is natural to fly again if minor technical problems are seen in the plane and they are solved in a short time. If we look at the incident before this, when there is a problem in the aircraft of this series, there is also an incident of being grounded abroad for months," said an aviation expert.

Currently, the aircraft grounded in Dubai is being checked by the engineering team of NAC. "According to the information received so far, the flight did not take place due to overheating of one of the engine's equipment," said an employee of NAC,

A year ago, a narrow-body vessel of the Nine N-AKW call-sign was grounded in Doha due to engine problems. The corporation had already decided to award the contract for the repair of the engine. It took a month and a half to remove the mess that had come before.

The corporation currently has a fleet of two Airbus-A330 and two Airbus-320. These aircraft have been flying to international destinations such as Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Japan, Thailand, Hong Kong, Saudi Arabia, Dubai, Qatar, Malaysia and others.