Kathmandu: Nepal Airlines Corporation (NAC) has experienced significant disruptions to its international flights due to the grounding of three aircraft. The issues have persisted for two days, affecting around 800 passengers across destinations including Kathmandu, Hong Kong, Doha, and Dubai.
The grounding stems from a hydraulic problem in NAC’s narrow-body aircraft, “Sagarmatha,” leading to flight cancellations. The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) ordered the grounding of “Sagarmatha,” impacting NAC’s operations as three of its four international aircraft are currently out of service.
NAC Spokesperson Ramesh Poudel assured that affected passengers were accommodated at the Radisson Lounge and provided with alternative travel arrangements through other airlines. He emphasized that the airline managed hotel stays according to international standards and arranged new tickets for passengers.
Poudel reported that the airline incurred a loss of Rs 10 million from the cancellations on Tuesday. He also noted that one wide-body aircraft has been undergoing detailed maintenance in Italy, while another wide-body aircraft was dispatched for similar checks on Wednesday. Currently, NAC has only one of its two ‘Twin Otter’ aircraft operational for domestic flights.
The spokesperson highlighted that the NAC’s limited fleet has exacerbated the impact of these disruptions, attributing the underlying issue to the insufficient number of available aircraft. Despite these challenges, NAC is working to resolve the situation and resume normal flight operations.