Qatar Airways has installed a new navigational technology – Required Navigation Performance – uthorisation Required (RNP AR) approach - in its f lights to Kathmandu considering the difficult terrain of Nepal. According to the airline, it is the first airline operating in Nepal to install such a technology which the company claims to be the latest of its kind.


Locked in the Himalayan mountain range, Kathmandu has one of the world’s most complicated approaches due to the surrounding challenging terrain.

“Flying an RNP AR approach into Tribhuvan International Airport reduces the pilots’ workload considerably and allows them to take full benefit of the advanced navigation equipment installed in the aircraft to easily  circumnavigate difficult terrain,” reads the press release.


The technology is believed to have significant safety improvements and reduce the required visibility compared with the current standard f lying procedures with a smooth descent and fully stabilised approach.

The RNP AR procedure allows aircraft to automatically f ly accurate trajectories without relying on ground-based navigation aids. It also optimises airspace utilization and reduces diversions in difficult weather conditions.


Qatar Airways Chief Executive Officer Akbar Al Baker said safety was the number one priority for the airline. “We pride ourselves on adopting the latest technology across our f leet and operation to ensure we maintain our high standards, vital for any business of our nature,” he said.
 
According to the company, working closely with key industry associates, Qatar Airways has partnered with the French procedures designer QUOVADIS, an Airbus owned company, and the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) to design and implement the Kathmandu RNP AR procedure.


Director General of the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN), T.R. Manandhar, said that the RNP AR approach had been introduced to find a solution to the current difficulties of high terrain. He added that CAAN now expected other airlines as well to adopt the new procedure. Qatar Airways currently operates four f lights a day between its Doha hub and Kathmandu, one of the carrier’s most popular routes.


Qatar Airways has also embarked on its Boeing 787 European expansion with the deployment of the next generation aircraft on three additional routes – Munich, Zurich and Frankfurt. The Dohabased carrier has started f lying the Dreamliner on the Munich route four times a week, effective January 14.


From February 1, one of the double daily services  to Frankfurt are being served by a Boeing 787. February 1 also signals an increase of 787 frequency on the Munich and Zurich routes to daily. All three destinations were  reviously operated with a mixed Airbus f leet.