EU to review ban on Nepal's aircrafts

KATHMANDU, Dec. 12 (Xinhua) -- A week after banning all Nepali

aircrafts from entering European skies, the European Commission ( EC)

has hinted at showing some flexibility following the criticism over its

decision from all quarters, including the Nepali government.

The regulator of Nepal's aviation sector on Thursday claimed that the EC has been trying to review its recent decision.

The EC, sending a letter to Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal ( CAAN),

said it will send a team of experts to judge the real air safety

situation of CAAN and other private air-service providing companies.

"We received a letter from EC on Tuesday in which it has said to send a

team to Nepal to get the first hand information on the initiatives we

have been making to enhance Nepal's air safety situation," CAAN Director

General Ratish Chandra Lal Suman told Xinhua on Thursday.

He

said his organization will soon fix a date to call the EC team after

holding talks with government and private sector aviation service

providers.

In a statement last Thursday, the EC had put all

of Nepali air carriers on the European Union's air-safety list, a move

that will effectively bar Nepali planes from flying into European

countries.

The Nepali government along with CAAN and other

private sector players had been criticizing the EC's move, terming it to

be an " inappropriate" and "surprising" move,stating that the

decision was made at a time when the country had been doing much to

improve Nepal's air safety.

"The team will inspect the situation of air safety of all airlines companies, both private and government," added Suman.

CAAN officials said during the inspection, if the EC finds the air

safety situation of any company unsatisfactory, it will continue the ban

on them, while the ban will be rolled back on those companies whose

safety situation is satisfactory.

They also said after the

EC finally decides whether to continue the ban or roll it back, it will

also introduce a separate project for Nepal to help the country

strengthen its air safety. The European team will firstly inspect air

safety measures adopted by CAAN and will spend each day to judge the air

safety of private companies.

After assembling the facts

about the Nepal's air safety situation from different sources and

hearing the responses from the Nepal government officials in regards to

the recent EC's move, the EC has shown flexibility to get the real

picture of Nepal's air safety.

On Tuesday, Nepal's Aviation

Ministry had also announced to make diplomatic efforts to persuade the

EC to revoke its recent decision. However, following the EC's letter,

the ministry has not mentioned anything about going ahead with its plan

or to revoke it.