Unions bleed NAC on Air Arabia fiasco, executive power dispute

Nepal Airlines Corporation (NAC) employees' unions disrupted the operations of their domestic flights for third consecutive day today to pressurise its management and Ministry of Tourism and Civial Aviation (MoTCA) to revoke the desicion to allow Air Arabia fly on Kathmandu-Kuala Lumpur route that is temporarily suspended.
The national flag carrier flies around 15 flights in an average daily to various destination in the countries with its four -- of the seven as three are grounded -- 19-seater DHC-6-Twin Otter aircraft.
"We will not let NAC operate domestic flight till Sunday," said Nimananda Khanal, vice-president of NAC Employees Organisition. Since last three days, the three Twin Otters are grounded in Kathmandu and one in Biratnagar. "The cabin crew of the Twin Otter that is in Biratnagar also returned today by private airlines leaving the aircraft," according to the unions.
"Until the NAC board and the ministry come clear on the air route to Air Arabia, we will not let domestic operations," Khanal said, adding that the employees' unions have four demands -- revoke the Kathmandu-Kuala Lumpur route of Air Arabia, solve executive dispute among chairman and managing director, expediate CIAA investigation on new aircraft purchase, and clear their agandas from the NAC board like the grounded Boeing 757's engine maintenence.
The NAC board that was supposed to meet today to discuss engine maintenence of the grounded Boeing 757 aircraft could not meet. One of the Boeing 757 aircraft that flies on international route is grounded due to technical glitch since a couple of weeks.
Currently, the ailing airlines is flying 190-seater Boeing B-757 and Boeing 757-200 aircraft -- Karnali and Gandaki -- on international routes, though it has been planning to add two new wide-body aircraft.
"We want immediate decision on Boeing engine -- that has been sent to Israel for maintenence -- and cancellation of Kathmandu-Kuala Lumpur route of Air Arabia," the unions said jointly.
The ministry had allowed Air Arabia to fly on Kathmandu-Kuala Lumpur route, that the NAC claims to be its milking cow as it is the only profitable route among the international routes of the national flag carrier.
NAC flies six days a week on the Kathmandu-Kuala Lumpur route carrying 1,140 passengers due to increased migration of Nepali workers to Malaysia, that is the biggest destination for Nepali blue-coller job seekers.
The government had also permitted Air Arbia to operate six flights a week on Kathmandu-Kuala Lumpur route under the revised Air Service Agreement (ASA) between the UAE and Nepal in 2007, offering the airline fifth freedom rights that allows an airline to carry passenger from one's own country to a second country and from that country to a third country.
The UAE-based low-cost carrier was scheduled to start its flight on the route from December 16 but has shelved its plan until further notice.