EU to conduct safety audit of Nepal from Thursday

Kathmandu / Oct 4: The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) is going to start a safety audit of Nepal from next Thursday.

According to Pradeep Adhikari, Director General of the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN), it is expected that Nepal will pass the audit this time and will be removed from the blacklist of the EU.

The team will conduct the audit for five days in various eight areas such as legislation, organization, personal licensing, flight operation, accident investigation, aerodrome and ground aids and air navigation service.

Earlier in 2013, ICAO had put Nepal’s air service in the list of serious security concerns (SSS), citing increasing risk in Nepal’s aviation security. The EU had put Nepal in the blacklist showing concern over Nepal’s air safety soon after ICAO put Nepal in the SSS list.

The international airlines registered in Nepal have not been able to operate flights over the EU due to the negative air safety list. Nepal Airlines Corporation and Himalaya Airlines cannot operate flights in European skies. Therefore, the audit of this time has been viewed as important as the airlines of the countries under the EU want to come to Nepal.

Later in 2017, the ICAO removed Nepal from the SSS list, saying it had made progress in the aviation security sector. The CAAN has been demanding time and again to remove Nepal from the EU’s blacklist.