KATHMANDU, Sept 16: A narrow body aircraft of Nepal Airlines Corporation (NAC) has been stranded in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE), for three days. The narrow-body aircraft of the type Airbus A320-200, registered 9N-AKX (Lumbini), has been grounded in Dubai for the past three days due to a problem with the hydraulics of the aircraft. After departing from Kathmandu to Dubai on Saturday, the aircraft could not be repaired in time, resulting in a delayed return.
According to the NAC, the aircraft is currently undergoing maintenance and preparations are underway to bring the aircraft as soon as possible after completing the maintenance work. The NAC has faced the challenge of providing the equipment quickly to repair the aircraft quickly.
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According to the NAC, as it takes time to purchase the maintenance materials, the aircraft which was expected to arrive on Sunday, will only reach Kathmandu by Monday evening (by tonight). The NAC said that extended repair times for the aircraft has led to increased issues with flight management.
One of the two wide-body aircraft of the NAC that was brought from Italy after a C-check three days ago, has been in operation since Friday. Meanwhile, the other wide-body aircraft is still in Italy for maintenance and has not yet arrived in Nepal.
The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) imposed a load penalty for carrying 90 passengers on the Airbus A330 with registration number 9N-LY due to structural weaknesses found in the aircraft's widebody maintenance. However the airline resumed flights at full passenger capacity from Saturday, as the penalty was only applied for one day. According to the NAC, managing flight operations became problematic due to the increased number of parked aircraft.
According to the NAC officials, managing flight operations with narrow-body aircraft has been challenging due to the absence of widebody aircraft for 80 days. The airline has faced daily pressures in managing flights, with another narrowbody aircraft grounded in Dubai.
Similarly, Buddha Air's aircraft, registration number 9N-AIT preparing to depart from Kathmandu to Bharatpur experienced technical issues on Monday morning. After the problem was detected, the aircraft was halted on the taxiway, and passengers disembarked. The Tribhuvan International Airport office said that this situation has delayed other flights as well.
