European Commission Continues The Ban On Nepali Airlines

The European Commission (EC) has continued the ban on Nepali Airlines from flying in the European sky, reports OnlineKhabar. Nepal Airlines has been on the ban list since the last four years (i.e. since December 2013).

EC updated its EU Air Safety List last week where it still lists Nepal in its banned airline’s list. Nepal is banned from EU skies “due to a lack of safety oversight by the aviation authorities.” Other airlines in the banned lists are Afghanistan, Angola (with the exception of one airline which operates under restrictions and conditions), Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Gabon (with the exception of 2 airlines which operate under restrictions and conditions), Indonesia (with the exception of 7 airlines), The Kyrgyz Republic, Liberia, Libya, São Tomé and Príncipe, Sierra Leone and Sudan.

In the current EU Air Safety List, 178 airline companies have been banned from EU skies including 172 from these states and six individual airlines from other countries.

The EU air safety list seeks to make sure that highest level of air safety for European citizens is attained. In the updated list, Avior Airlines from Venezuela is added to the list while Mustique Airways from St Vincent and the Grenadines and Urga from Ukraine are removed.

The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) had sent a report on the improvements carried out in the aviation sector to the EC. But EC has pointed out lapses in the revalidation of the air operators certificate, training and licensing and CAAN’s institutional capacity.