The aircraft named 'Lumbini' landed at the Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) in Kathmandu via Doha at 6:40 am.
Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) has given 9N-AKX call sign to the new aircraft.According to NAC, a flight instructor from Airbus and an NAC pilot flew the aircraft from Hamburg in Germany via Doha. A five member team consisting of Rabin Pradhan, director of NAC's Quality Assurance and Flight Safety Department; Karna Bahadur Thapa, director of Engineering Department; Project Coordinator Prabhas Karmacharya, Engineer Pawan Kumar Karwal and Bhesh Raj Subedi, chief of CAAN's Airworthiness Division, had left for Germany on April 22 for handover of the aircraft.
Though NAC had planned a mega ceremony to welcome the aircraft, nothing was done on Friday as the country is mourning the loss of thousands people who died due to earthquake. "As the country in a huge tragedy, we did not organize any official program. The aircraft brought in a medical team and relief materials," said Ram Hari Sharma, spokesperson of NAC, told Republica.
The Airbus Foundation, Humedica -- a German NGO, and NAC used the flight to transport relief materials and medical team to provide aid to the victims.
According to NAC, four doctors, two nurses, two observers and two journalists were on board the aircraft besides the Nepali team which went to Germany to receive the aircraft. The aircraft has also brought 5 tons of relief supply including 3.3 tons of medicine.
European aircraft manufacturer Airbus teamed up with German relief organization Humedica to help send the aid t Nepal.
"It's a plane that's being sent out anyway. Because it's flying empty, we have been given the opportunity to fly about five tons of relief supplies. The shipment, which includes medicine as well as items such as tents and water purification supplies, can help thousands of victims," Humedica Coordinator Heidi Nicklin said Thursday morning from a hangar at Airbus' Finkenwerder assembly line facility in Hamburg according to US Today.
According to NAC, the team has already joined the Humedica relief team who had arrived here few days ago.
"As the aircraft has to go through regular procedure, the aircraft will not be pressed into operation right away. Once everything becomes normal, we will begin the registration procedures," added Sharma.
The first of the two Airbuses arrived in Nepal on February 8. It has been named 'Sagarmatha' after the tallest peak on earth.
NAC had initiated process to acquire aircraft for international operation six years ago. But the process had landed in controversy. The national flag carrier finally signed purchase agreement with Airbus for two aircraft on June 27, 2013. The catalogue price of Airbus A320-200 is around Rs 15 billion. As part of the agreement, Airbus is providing free training to NAC's engineers and pilots.
To finance purchase of the aircraft, NAC has signed a loan agreement worth Rs 10 billion with Employees' Provident Fund (EPF). EPF has fixed interest rate at 12 percent per annum. As per the agreement, NAC has to pay back the loan within 15 years.
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