Make aviation safety a top priority

July 12, 2023 07:40 am

In yet another fatal air accident in the country on Tuesday, a helicopter belonging to Manang Air crashed in Lamjura area of Solukhumbu district killing six people onboard including the captain. The ill-fated helicopter on its way to Kathmandu from Surke, Solukhumbu was found crashed in the Lamjura area in the district hours after it suddenly lost contact with the tower.

NEW DELHI, June 19: An aircraft carrying 185 passengers Sunday made an emergency landing immediately after the takeoff as its left engine caught fire in the eastern Indian state of Bihar, officials said.

KATHMANDU, June 14: Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation, Prem Bahadur Ale today said that the Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) would be made a model airport in terms of cleanliness.

KATHMANDU, March 4: Aviation flights were disrupted on Thursday due to a mechanical test flight (calibration flight) for the runway test at the Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA). Flights were held in the sky for a long time while some domestic flights were canceled. Another calibration flight at TIA is scheduled for today as well. The test flight is also expected to disrupt air services at TIA today.

KATHMANDU, Dec 17: Flights between Nepal and India that were suspended for the past nine months due to the COVID-19 pandemic, have resumed from Thursday.

JANAKPUR, Dec 12: Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Yogesh Bhattarai has said that the government was working to bring high-level infrastructure development to Janakpurdham. Inaugurating the new terminal building and control tower at Janakpur airport today, he described the airport as a mode of friendship between the federal, provincial and local level governments.

KATHMANDU, Oct 7: Yeti Airlines has started its service at Simara, the nearest destination from Kathmandu, from today.

KATHMANDU, Sept 8: The Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation (MoCTCA) has directed the government agencies concerned to complete the tree counting process in the proposed site of Nijgadh International Airport by mid-December this year.

Full throttle overhead

November 23, 2019 09:28 am

One old aviation hand suggested that I should do a piece timed to coincide with 36th International Federation of Air Traffic Controllers Association (IFATCA) Asia Pacific Regional Meeting (APRM) in Kathmandu (21-23 November). Seventy-seven and long retired, he still loves getting involved with aviation activities wherever possible. Though hesitant, I pondered if mitigating notoriety earned by TIA for inordinate long holdings in the air would be appropriate enough. As this was likely to make our ATCs little less stressful and that it was in consonance with the core aim of IFATCA, I decide to give it a try.

KATHMANDU, Oct 1: Nepal and Australia have agreed to operate direct flight service.

Falling reserves

October 1, 2019 00:30 am

In county like ours whose economy is heavily dependent on imports, foreign exchange reserves should be adequate to sustain imports for at least eight months

NAC operates chartered flight to Tokyo

September 26, 2019 08:10 am

KATHMANDU, Sept 26: Nepal Airlines Corporation (NAC) is operating first of its two chartered flights to Narita International Airport of Tokyo, Japan, on Wednesday evening.

LONDON, Sept 25: More than 70 flights were scheduled to operate on Wednesday, Britain’s Civil Aviation Authority said, to bring back 16,500 people after the collapse of travel firm Thomas Cook.

KATHMANDU, Sept 25: Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) is making a move to collect outstanding dues of over Rs 2 billion from 230 airlines companies, government offices, firms, and individuals.

KATHMANDU, Sept 19: Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation, Yogesh Kumar Bhattarai, has drawn the attention of the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) to solve the problem of plane holding.

Acting deaf n dumb

September 7, 2019 01:00 am

New tourism minister has come up with list of tasks he wishes to get done before Visit Nepal Year 2020. But he has left out many aspects

The pain of going around

August 22, 2019 01:00 am

Nepal aviation has been subjected to EASA’s blacklisting since December 2013 because many European lives were lost in domestic sectors in STOLs and helicopter crashes

TAPLEJUNG, Aug 6: Nepal Airlines, the national flag carrier successfully conducted a test flight of its Chinese-made Y-12 aircraft to Taplejung-based Suketar Airport.

ICAO conference from August 19

July 26, 2019 15:30 pm

KATHMANDU, July 26: A conference of aviation director generals of International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) is taking place in Kathmandu from August 19-23.

ISLAMABAD, July 16: Pakistan’s airspace has been reopened to civil aviation with immediate effect, its aviation authority said on Tuesday, following months of restrictions imposed in the wake of a standoff with neighboring India earlier this year.

KATHMANDU, July 3: Qatar Airways has said that it was organizing the CAPA Qatar Aviation Aeropolitical and Regulatory Summit in Doha in the first week of February next year.

Business over safety

March 23, 2019 01:05 am

The aviation world was rocked by Ethiopian Airline’s (ET) recent crash involving a B737Max8 that happened less than five months after Lion Air (JT) crash in Indonesia. Normally, the period is not crucial, but the common narratives seem to show very identical circumstances with both crashing within few minutes after takeoff.

KATHMANDU, Feb 15: Qatar Airways has welcomed the publication of ‘Doha Declaration’ -- a manifesto that calls for a serious review of the existing aviation regulatory framework.

KATHMANDU, Dec 22: Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Rabindra Adhikari has said that negligence on part of concerned authorities was the main reason behind the failure to mobilize capital expenses.

Chopper hits another chopper in Lukla

October 22, 2018 15:27 pm

KATHMANDU, Oct 22: An Air Dynasty helicopter collided with another helicopter belonging to Mountain Airlines while landing at Tenzing Hilary Airport of Lukla.

KATHMANDU, June 22: Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil aviation, Rabindra Prasad Adhikari, has said that International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) has removed Nepal's aviation sector from Significant Safety Concern (SSC) list.

KATHMANDU, June 11: International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) is honoring Nepal in recognition of its efforts to remove itself from the Significant Security Concern (SSC) list.

KATHMANDU, March 31: Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Rabindra Adhikari has said that the improvement of situation at Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) is an urgent concern for the government, and his immediate focus would be to see reduction of air traffic congestion and management of traffic flow at the airport.

A Canadian aviation expert has joined the probe body in Nepal to investigate into the plane crash of US-Bangla Airlines.

KATHMANDU, March 14: While the Tribhuvan International Airport officials and aviation authorities of Bangladesh trade blame for Monday's US-Bangla plane crash, a high-level Bangladeshi team led by Civil Aviation and Tourism Minister AKM Shahjahan Kamal has arrived in Kathmandu on Tuesday.

Etihad Aviation Training resumes

March 10, 2018 08:25 am

KATHMANDU, March 10: Etihad Aviation Training, a part of Etihad Aviation Group, re-launched its aviation training organization on Friday.

KATHMANDU, Feb 24: Recreational aviation operation license of 11 paragliding companies has been scrapped this year, according to Flight Safety Standard Department (FSSD) of Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN). The license of 11 paragliding companies has been canceled as did not apply to renew their license.

KATHMANDU, Feb 4: The year 2017 has been considered a safer year for Nepal’s aviation sector compared to the previous years, as the country recorded only two accidents with two casualties in the year.

KATHMANDU, Nov 27: Nepal's second aviation museum has officially opened its doors for visitors.

Pilot of Aviation Museum

November 14, 2017 10:22 am

Having graduated from Jawaharlal University and trained from National Defense Academy in Pune and Indian Military Academy, Bed Upreti is an experienced pilot as well as the CEO of Aircraft Museum, Sinamangal. His aviation journey began from a scholarship that he received while serving as a second lieutenant. He then completed the Pilots training from Indian Air Force. In 1992, Bed received the Commercial Pilot License from Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), USA. He then flew for Nepal Army for 12 years and worked for Necon air for eight years until 2004. He further worked for Kingfisher Airlines from 2004 to 2012. An author of over a dozen books, including ‘Everest From The Air’, ‘360 Degree Everest From A Pilot’s Eye View’, Bed is currently an instructor and examiner pilot with Wings Abadi (Lion Air) in Indonesia.

KATHMANDU, Nov 5: It’s a childhood dream for many to become a pilot when they grow up,  but it takes a lot of hard work and determination to become one. Captain Bed Prasad Upreti is one such pilot who saw possibilities in adversity.

KATHMANDU, Nov 4: Aviation enthusiastic students now can get detailed information about Nepali aviation history through Aviation Museum. The aviation museum is ready to open for students from Sunday at Sinamangal.

KATHMANDU, Sept 11: Tourism entrepreneurs have asked Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Jitendra Narayan Dev to improve the aviation sector of the country for the development of the tourism sector.

KATHMANDU, July 5: A team of International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) formally started audit of Nepal's aviation sector from Tuesday.

KATHMANDU, Jan 10: Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) has made a controversial decision to distribute bonus to its 800 staffers.

Infographics: Women in aviation

January 7, 2017 00:05 am

Women in aviation

The Alaska Volcano Observatory has issued its highest level of alert for aviation after what it says was a brief eruption of a volcano on the Aleutian Islands on Tuesday.

The state of global aviation

KATHMANDU, Aug 9: Nepali skies have claimed the lives of more than 738 people in 55 air accidents over the past seven decades, according to records maintained by the Aviation Safety Network (ASN), a US-based international organisation.