Insurance policy of the China-made aircraft is expiring on Saturday. NAC can fly the aircraft till Sunday, according to NAC officials.
NAC management has not been able to take decision on renewal insurance policy of MA 60 due to contradictory opinions from its board and the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation (MoCTCA).
Citing various problems with the aircraft, NAC board has already written to MoCTCA that the national flag carrier is not in a position to operate them. The board has told the tourism ministry that NAC was facing heavy loss die to problematic Chinese aircraft.
NAC has been facing various issues with the MA 60 and Harbin Y12 E aircraft like problems with landing and take-off weight due to which the aircraft has not been able to carry passengers as per their capacity. Similarly, expensive spare parts, problem in delivery of spare parts, and high insurance premium are the other problems that NAC is facing.
A highly-placed official of NAC said that the board was waiting for the direction of the ministry on renewal of insurance policy. "We are not in a position to operate problem-ridden Chinese aircraft. That is why we have not shown any interest in renewal of MA 60's insurance premium," said the official.
Tourism ministry officials, however, say NAC can take decision on the issue on its own. "It is the responsibility of the operator. It can choose any insurer as per its convenience," Suresh Acharya, joint secretary of MoCTCA, told Republica.
Acharya, however, agreed that the insurance premium of Chinese aircraft is high compared to other aircraft. "The insurance premium will be automatically reduced in the second year if the aircraft operates smoothly. But as MA 60 has been facing one problem after another, the chance of insurance premium going down is slim," said Acharya.
Insurance premium of both MA 60 and Y12 E is high as the aircraft only have local certification -- only from Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC). Federal Aviation Administration FAA) -- national aviation authority of Unites States -- and European Aviation Safety agency (EASA) have not certified these aircraft.
At present, NAC is paying 4.7 percent of the total cost of MA 60 as insurance premium. It amounts to Rs 250,000 a day. "We have been requesting China to reduce the premium to 1 percent," said Ram Hari Sharma, spokesperson of NAC, said.
NAC has insured the aircraft with a United Kingdom-based via Rastriya Beema Sansthan.
According to the official, NAC has decided not to renew the aircraft if the insurance premium is more than 1 percent. This means that the aircraft will remain grounded from Monday onwards.
A board meeting of NAC had earlier decided that if the insurance was not renewed by April 15, they would most likely return the aircraft back and not bring the remaining aircraft. However, the board is waiting for the decision from the line ministry before taking a formal decision on the issue.
Joint Secretary Acharya said NAC will not bring remaining aircraft if problems with Chinese aircraft are not resolved.
A joint meeting of officials from tourism ministry, NAC and CAAC was held on April 13 to resolve the problems. In the meeting, CAAC officials had said they will soon send a team to study airports of Nepal to determine the problem with load capacity and solve it accordingly.
Related story
NAC’s Twin Otter grounded for carrying 150 kg more baggage than...
