The European Commission has decided to continue its ban on Nepali airlines from flying into the 28-nation bloc of the European Union, stating that the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal has failed to address safety concerns. In its updated air safety list that was made public in Brussels yesterday, the EC said Nepali airlines were still subject to an operating ban within the EU because of CAAN’s failure to rectify safety short-comings. The EC had blacklisted Nepal, placing restrictions on Nepali airlines for the first time on December 5, 2013. “Update of the Air Safety List is based on the unanimous opinion of the EU Air Safety Committee, which met from November 24 to 26,” it stated. The European Aviation Agency has repeatedly made it clear that it is unlikely to remove Nepali airlines from its blacklist unless the International Civil Aviation Organisation closed its significant safety concerns about the country’s aviation sector. EU ban followed by ICAO’s SSCs is a major setback to country’s aviation industry and the tourism sector.
