--By Eliza Tuladhar

 

It has not been long since European Commission (EC) showed its concern over lack of safety and security in Nepal’s domestic airlines and blacklisted Nepali airlines citing frequent accident in the domestic flights. Amidst such restrictions, Nepali aviation sector is still struggling hard to prove itself as a safe and secure means of transportation in the Himalayan nation. 

 

The European Commission (EC), remaining within its regulatory framework, imposed an operational ban on December 5, 2013 on Nepali air carriers to operate in the EU territories and issued a travel advisory to its citizen to avoid flying with Nepali air carriers. According to Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) the operational ban was based on the two major factors. One of them was higher rate of lack of effective implementation of provisions of International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) and next was unacceptable rate of accidents and serious incident in past few years. 

 

‘The international airlines services have not been affected due to the blacklisting of Nepali airlines in the EC’, said president of Airline Operator’s Committee – Nepal (AOC-N), Bharat Kumar Shrestha. However concerned authorities and stakeholders have taken the issue seriously and have been working towards making Nepali air transportation services safe.

 

In its effort to build good reputation in the international arena, CAAN has been actively supported by various international agencies like ICAO, Cooperative Development of Operational safety and Continuing Airworthiness Programme – South Asia , European Union, European Aviation Safety Agency, Directorate General for Civil Aviation - France, and Airbus to put up new security measures and systems. 

 

 

 “Airlines Operators Association of Nepal (AOAN) and CAAN recently organised a safety training programme for domestic airlines frontline workers. This programme is expected to create awareness about safety procedures thereby contribute in making Nepali air transportation safe,” executive director of AOAN, Kamlesh Kumar Verma said.

Verma added that the training, facilitated by international aviation safety experts, is expected to contribute in raising awareness among stakeholders and help the industry to emerge as a safer means of transportation. 

 

In February this year, a team of experts from the European Union had visited Nepal and observed CAAN’s safety procedures and those adopted by Nepal Airlines, Yeti Airlines, Buddha Air, Tara Air, Shree Airlines and Sita Air. The assessment covered many areas including the personnel licensing system, and air operator certification, an issue that has been taken seriously by ICAO.

 

“CAAN has discussed issues raised in the EU team’s report with stakeholders. It has prepared a draft plan to address those issues and looks forward to implement it following approval from the EU authorities,” Raju Shrestha, deputy director of CAAN, said.  He said that the lack of theoretical knowledge about the Airline Transport Pilot License (ATPL) among pilots operating multi crew aircraft has been a major issue for CAAN and informed that the authority is closely working with the airlines to address it. To update the knowledge base of the pilots, CAAN and airline operators have agreed to train the pilots in reputed international training institutions. 

 

“We believe that, providing trainings to pilots in renowned international pilot training institutions will help in increasing their professional proficiency and thereby contribute in ensuring safer flights in Nepal,” Shrestha said. The plan is still under consideration and will be implemented in consultation with foreign civil aviation administration. 

 

Of other requirements, the EU team had been concerned with the English proficiency testing procedure of the pilots and the competency of Aero-Medical examiners. CAAN says that it has developed system to improve its English proficiency testing procedures and added that it is planning to assess competency and provide refresher trainings to aero-medical examiners. 

 

As an effort to address ICAO concerns regarding flight safety, CAAN has reviewed its air operator certification requirements. ICAO has approved the new air operator certification operator requirements, prepared through active support from the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore and the Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh. These directives will be soon brought into effect and will be mandatory for existing airliners and new comers Shrestha informed. He said that a workable and practical plan for realistic implementation of these directives is in the offing. 

 

CAAN is reviewing its safety management process. Presently the safety management system is limited to airline operation and Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) aerodrome. However, CAAN is now planning to put up a comprehensive computerised safety oversight system that will classify all deficiencies, provision updating of approvals and keep track of activities and deadlines. While extending this process to activities like air traffic services and aircraft maintenance, this new system is expected to improve the overall safety standards.

 

“Airline operators are moving ahead in this direction by setting up hazard collection and risk analysis mechanism. This will assist in mitigating safety risk and thereby contribute in the overall aviation safety in Nepal,” said Shrestha. CAAN is also planning to set up a national safety database by implementing ECCAIRS software by collecting safety data from all stakeholders in the next few months. This will be part of a stringent mechanism for safety data analysis and trend monitoring. It is expected to assist in taking proactive measures to address any potential safety issues. 

 

Apart for these measures, CAAN has also conducted formal basic safety oversight inspector course for inspectors of all disciplines.  It has also provisioned for organising such trainings at regular intervals. However, some aviation experts stress on the need to review the existing age-old Airport Emergency Plan and the National Civil Aviation Plan, 2007.