The Parliamentary Accounts Committee (PAC) has directed Nepal Airlines Corporation (NAC) not to go ahead with the deal to purchase new airplanes until all outstanding issues are addressed.

The parliamentary committee issued this directive to NAC during a meeting with  the senior officials of the national carrier at Singh Durbar on Friday morning.

The parliamentary committee has said it will make further decision on the matter only after holding separate meetings with the NAC management committee, finance ministry officials and the Employee Provident Fund (EPF), which is providing the loan to NAC for the purchase of the airplanes.

At the meeting, the members of the parliamentary committee also objected to various remarks appearing in the media linking the Committee's name to the airline purchase deal, mostly in poor light.

Speaking at the meeting, NAC's executive-chairman Sugaratna Kansakar said that the corporation will pay up the loan it is taking for the purchase of two Airbuses in the next 6-7 years.

Similarly, NAC's general manager Kul Bahadur Limbu said that there is an urgent need to purchase narrow-body airplanes instead of wide-body ones in order to resume regular flights to neighboring countries.

Stating that they are not against NAC's plan to purchase the airplanes, the members of the parliamentary committee said NAC should first improve its tainted image in the public (owing to frauds committed during previous such deals) by improving its management and make the deal transparent. They also expressed concern over the division seen in NAC itself regarding the purchase and said this issue should first be addressed before going ahead with the deal

Nepal Airlines Corporation (NAC) had two a week ago signed a deal to buy two Airbus aircraft -- one A330-200 wide-body plane and another A320 single aisle jet.

NAC says the new aircrafts, which are valued at about $250m, will be deployed on international services to Japan and will for the very first time connect Nepal to Europe with direct flights.

NAC currently has two Boeing airplanes for its international operation and four twin otters for domestic services.

Meanwhile, Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN), the aviation regulatory agency of the country, has recently decided to purchase an aircraft worth US$ 4 million to be leased on rent to national flag carrier Nepal Airlines Corporation. Nepalnews.com

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