The government has directed Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) to work on
improving air safety standard.
Marking the
International Civil Aviation Day 2013, a day after the EC's ban of Nepali
aircraft flying to Europe – though not a single Nepali airlines flies to
Europe currently – the minister for tourism and civil aviation Tek Bahadur
Thapa Gharti today, also committed that it will make gradual progress in ensuring
compliance of aviation safety standards.
"Safety,
security and sustainability are the three key challenges for civil aviation,"
he said, directing the CAAN to ensure air safety standard, and develop civil
aviation system in line with the international standards.
CAAN is the
authority that is responsible for improving country's safety standard that will
help European Union (EU) to lift the ban. He also asked the EC to remove the
ban.
The
current EU safety list covers 21 countries and some 295 airlines – Afghanistan,
Angola, Benin, Republic of the Congo, the Democratic Republic of the Congo,
Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Gabon, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan,
Liberia, Mozambique, Nepal, Philippines, Sierra Leone, Sao Tome and Principe, Sudan,
Swaziland and Zambia.
With the theme
'Evolving to Meet the Challenges of 21st Century Air Transport', International Civil Aviation Day is marked
across the globe today commemorating the establishment of the International
Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) on December 7, 1944.
Though, the authorities
claimed that they have identified weakness of the Nepali sky and planning to improve
it within six months, the EC has a day ago banned Nepali aircraft flying to
European cities.
CAAN on the
occasion, claimed that the ban will be lifted within six months as they have
started improvement of air safety.
However, Japan
International Cooperation Agency (JICA) is helping the government install radar
that will be operational from mid-2015. Mashahi Ogawa, ambassador of Japan to
Nepal said that the modern radar will help to control air traffic,” said Ogawa,
on the occasion.
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