October 19: Nepal Airlines Corporation (NAC) is preparing to add three more aircraft to its fleet for domestic flights with its own resources. Stating that the business expansion and income of NAC have been better than in the previous year, the state-owned airline company said it is in the final stage of preparation to purchase the aircraft for domestic flights. The NAC said it will purchase the aircraft on installments basis.

The flag carrier of Nepal had taken loans from the Employees' Provident Fund (EPF) and the Citizens' Investment Trust (CIT) to purchase aircraft for international flights.

The NAC had purchased two wide-body and two narrow-body aircraft with the loans. It paid installments of Rs 530.9 million to the EPF and CIT on Tuesday.

According to the NAC, it has already paid installments of Rs 3.77 billion to these organizations between mid-June 2022 to mid-June 2023. NAC Spokesperson Ramesh Paudel said that the company's business expansion and income have improved compared to the previous year.

According to him, the NAC has cleared all its dues and is also managing expenses for regular and emergency maintenance of engine and aircraft on its own after improvement in cash flow.

He said that the NAC plans to buy new aircraft to fly to remote areas (STOL) based on the current needs.

He added that the new aircraft will serve passengers in the remote areas and it will also promote tourism and also maintain the price of airfare.

Likewise, the NAC issued a notice on Wednesday and informed that it has resumed operation of aircraft that were grounded due to technical problems for a few days.

The NAC’s aircraft were grounded for some time due to technical problems, recently. The NAC mentioned that all the aircraft are operating regular flights since Monday after necessary repairs.

NAC currently has four Airbus for international flights and only one Twin Otter for domestic flights. Six NAC aircraft manufactured in China are currently grounded due to high operating cost and expensive spare parts.

As the NAC’s presence in domestic market is weak, private companies are charging exorbitant fares taking advantage of the festive season at present.