New CAAN rules allow domestic pilots to fly only eight hours and land only eight times a day

KATHMANDU, Feb 2: The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal(CAAN) is going to implement a new air flight system in view of the upcoming rainy season to make air flights safer.

The authority is going to implement a new air flight system after discussing with experts and stakeholders in the aviation sector with the aim of making domestic civil aviation safer, and more reliable, dignified and professional.

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On Wednesday, Gyanendra Bhul, the information officer of CAAN, said that new regulations regarding air flights are going to be implemented in order to make flights safer and reliable.

He said that according to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO)’s standards of the Chicago Conference, the rules will be modified every three or six months to make Nepal's airspace safer. He said that discussions were held with experts from January 27 to  January 31, and based on those discussions, preparations are being made to implement five different rules.

Bhul also said that the new system was not going to be implemented due to the plane crash, but it was a regular process of the CAAN.

He said that according to the new regulations to be implemented by the CAAN, pilots are now going to be allowed to fly only eight hours a day and land only eight times. He said that currently there is a provision of ten hours of flight and 10 landings per day. He said that VFR flights are not allowed at airports where IFR flights are available. He said that the plane should always be 500 feet above the ground level during short take-off landing (STOL) in hilly areas and at least 1000 feet above the ground level when flying in accessible areas.

Bhul said that in order to reduce the risk of fatigue of the crew members, the system of allowing more time to fly when there are more than two crew members in the flight is going to be abolished. He said that it is going to be arranged that all the trainer pilots of the airline company should go to the aircraft manufacturing company for a skill test.