EU Maintains Blacklist for Nepali Airlines Amid Safety Concerns

The European Union (EU) has declined to remove Nepali airline companies from its blacklist, much to the chagrin of high-ranking government officials who had predicted the prohibition would be lifted shortly. Since 2013, the EU has placed Nepal on its air safety blacklist and has collaborated with the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) to address safety issues. However, progress has been sluggish, and the EU remains unsatisfied with CAAN's endeavors.

In its most recent report on the air safety list, the Department for Mobility and Transport of the EU has continued to blacklist 20 Nepali airline companies. These encompass a majority of private airlines and helicopter companies as well as the state-owned Nepal Airlines Corporation (NAC).

The EU has clarified that it maintained the ban because Nepali airlines, out of a total of 129 carriers, failed to conform to international safety standards. "The update also mirrors the decision to preserve the ban on air carriers certified in Nepal due to persistent safety concerns discovered during an assessment visit to Nepal between September 11-15. Nevertheless, the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal's active engagement and ongoing efforts to strengthen its safety oversight capabilities were suitably recognized during the EU Air Safety Committee meeting," states the EU report.

Between September 11 and 15, the EU's technical team conducted an on-site audit. Subsequent to this inspection, Minister for Culture, Tourism, and Civil Aviation Sudan Kirati declared at a public event last month that Nepali airlines would be removed from the EU ban soon. Kirati based his proclamation on certain financial improvements achieved by NAC.

In June 2023, the EU announced that it would persist in blacklisting Nepali airlines until CAAN is divided into two separate entities: one for regulation and one for service provision— a basic requirement needed for removing them from the blacklist. The EU contends that this separation is essential to guarantee that CAAN can effectively regulate the Nepali aviation sector.

The EU has been urging Nepal to divide its civil aviation body into two entities — a service provider and a regulator. However, the government has yet to enforce relevant laws and establish functional bodies in accordance with this request.

Nevertheless, Nepal's airliners were removed from the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO)'s list of Serious Security Concern (SSC) in July 2017.