October 12: A technical team of the European Union (EU) has made a positive observation about Nepal’s aviation safety following an audit of Nepal’s entire aviation safety sector.    
A technical team of the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) of the EU had arrived in Nepal and carried out the audit from October 7 to 9. The three-member technical team of the EASA is scheduled to submit its report to Nepal on October 28, the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) said. CAAN has assured to respond to the issues pointed out in the report.    
Spokesperson of CAAN Jagannath Niraula expressed his belief that the EU would remove Nepal from its air safety list since the technical team was positive about Nepal’s aviation safety.    
“CAAN will respond to the issues raised in the report and the final decision to remove Nepal from EU’s air safety list would be decided once the final report is submitted to the EU,” said Spokesperson Niraula.    
The EU has blacklisted Nepal since the past one decade for its poor record in air safety. As a result, the airlines companies registered in Nepal are not allowed to make flights to the EU member states.    
Niraula claimed that the technical team of EASA is satisfied after the technical studies and consultations with the CAAN officials.    
The EU technical team carried out its audit based on different aspects including International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) audit report that puts Nepal above the global average, Civil Aviation (Investigation of Accident) Regulation passed from the Council of Ministers and others.    
The CAAN stated that the EU technical team conducted its assessment on eight areas including legislation, personal licensing, flight operation, accident investigation, air navigation services, aerodrome and ground aides. -- RSS