The Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation is set to present the bill, which envisions ending Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN)’s dual role as a regulator and service provider, in the Cabinet.
Ram Krishna Lamichhane, spokesperson at the ministry, told NBA that the Ministry of Law and Ministry of Finance have approved the bill and the tourism ministry is in process to present it in the Cabinet.
“The bill is the updated version of previous bills endorsed by the National Assembly around three years ago,” Lamichhane added.
Three years after the Upper House endorsed the bills and more than eight months since the parliamentary International Relations and Tourism Committee directed the government to table them in the Lower House, the bills had continued to gather dust.
It will now be upon the Cabinet to move the bills forward, Lamichhane added. “We cannot guess how and when it will be tabled in the Parliament.”
Poor safety records have tarnished Nepal’s reputation in the domestic and international aviation sector.
Nepal has recorded more than 100 air crashes in its aviation history with more than 900 people having lost their lives in such incidents since 1955, according to CAAN.
The European Union which first banned Nepali airlines from operating flights into the sky of the EU member countries in 2013, has continued the prohibition citing poor aviation safety record of Nepal.
Many consider CAAN’s dual role–as a service provider and a regulator–to be one of the major reasons affecting aviation safety in the country.
The recently published preliminary investigation report of the Saurya Airlines plane crash on July 24 also said the shortcomings of both regulator and operator were among the reasons for the crash.
The Bombardier CRJ 200 with a registration 9N-AME and operated by Saurya Airlines had crashed on the east side of the runway, shortly after taking off from runway 02 (Koteshwar side), killing 18 of the 19 onboard.
The European Union as well as the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) have long been demanding the Government of Nepal to split the CAAN into a regulator and air service provider to enhance air safety. It is also one of the preconditions set by the EU to lift the suspension imposed on Nepali airliners.
Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli recently reiterated the government's commitment to improving air safety. More lawmakers have been saying they are in favour of splitting CAAN into a regulator and service provider.
However, the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal Bill, and the Air Service Authority of Nepal Bill, which aim to do so, have been ignored by every government so far.
