Civil Aviation Minister for restructuring NAC
Minister for Tourism and Civil Aviation Sharat Singh Bhandari on Tuesday
said the state-owned Nepal Airlines Corporation (NAC) should be
restructured as per the demand of the time.
Speaking at an interaction program held at NAC's central office in the
capital, he however didn't say on what basis the restructuring should be
done, but pledged government's help to smoothen the process of acquisition
of additional aircrafts for the corporation.
NAC has initiated the process of buying two Boeing 747's and small
aircrafts to upgrade its existing fleet of one Boeing for international
flights and few small aircrafts for its domestic operations.
Advising NAC to ensure quality service to its customers, Minister Bhandari
also underscored the need to start training programs to produce efficient
manpowers to realize this objective.
Capt. Kul Bahadur Limbu, General Manager of NAC, said that NAC has already
initiated the process of buying the additional aircrafts to upgrade its
existing fleet.
According to him, the purchase of one Boeing 747 will give direct
employment to somewhere around 450 people and more than 5,000-6,000 get
indirect employment.
NAC, formerly known as R(Royal)NAC, has been at the center of controversy
many times in the past owing to shady deals (running to millions of
dollars) made while taking aircrafts on lease, purchasing and even
repairing vital parts of the airplane.
In the 90's the infamous Lauda Air scam even dragged the then Prime
Minister Girija Prasad Koirala into controversy for his alleged
involvement in the case. nepalnews.com
