KATHMANDU, Nepal-The government of Nepal is planning to make required legal amendments for structural reform of the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) as per the recommendations of the European Union (EU) and the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).
The government was in trouble situation and eventually decided to pick out legal amendment route after EU blacklisted the Nepali aviation sector a week ago. Citing the number of increasing air accidents in Nepal and the regulatory body failed to take effective measures to improve the country’s air safety standard here, EU had placed the domestic air line operators in the country in its aviation security list, barring them from operating any flights in the European zone on last Thursday.
‘The Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation is all set to take initiative for deleting Nepal out of the blacklist by amending the CAAN Act through an ordinance’, an official at the Ministry informed.
According to him, Chairman of the Interim Election Government Khila Raj Regmi is positive in this regard and the cabinet is likely to endorse the ordinance within a week.
ICAO had also been suggesting that a single body should not act both as a service-provider and a regulator.
It is learnt that the Ministry is serious about amendment as EU would lift the ban Nepal from the blacklist if the government initiated reform work by amending a few articles of CAAN at the earliest. The Ministry is equally aware that the image of Nepal will be discredited if the ban is not immediately lifted.
The ministry has moved the amendment process forward soon after Tourism Minister who was in foreign trip returned back to Nepal on Tuesday afternoon.According to the official, the government had not thought that EU would adopt such ‘bitter decision’ which has made the government more serious.
The ministry had raised the issue of amendment to remove these obstacles but it had been stalled in absence of the parliament.
