PROBLEMS GALORE IN CHINESE PLANES

KEDAR DAHAL

KATHMANDU, Jan 20

The Nepal Airlines Corporation (NAC) has sought help of the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation to resolve the problems seen in its Chinese airplanes. The NAC has sought the ministry’s help as it looks set to suffer loss from operation of the Chinese planes.

It currently has two Chinese airplanes including an MA-60 and a Y-12. It prepares to bring four more Chinese planes of the two models. While performance of the Y-12 plane is average the other has proved to be a white elephant for the NAC. Over Rs 20 million has already been spent on repair of the MA-60 which has been grounded for days on several occasions. It had to replace a part costing over Rs 10 million. The NAC lost a huge amount of income through passengers as the plane remained grounded for many days.

Both of these planes have been provided by the Chinese government in grant. The Ma-60 has put the NAC in a difficult position due to the time and money required for repair even though the plane was received for free. NAC Spokesperson Ramhari Sharma says help of the ministry was sought to resolve the problems seen in the MA-60 plane diplomatically. He reveals the NAC has started initiative through the government as the Chinese manufacturer did not even cooperate properly in repair of the plane. The NAC is procuring one MA-60 and three Y-12 with soft loans from China. “We have stopped the process of bringing the new planes until the problems of the current planes are resolved,” he states.

The NAC claims that the manufacturer has not provided even basic facilities. “There has been problem as the company has not responded even for weeks even though the necessary spare parts have to be provided within 24-48 hours when a plane is grounded,” he claims. “The Chinese company, on top of that, has charged a higher price than others. It needs to be solved by a higher authority,” he elaborates. The 56-seater MA-60 has been grounded for 73 days in the seven months of starting operation. “The plane has been grounded on five occasions due to different reasons. The NAC has lost tens of millions due to that,” Sharma states.

The Export Import (Exim) Bank of China has provided Rs 6.67 billion in grant and soft loans for bringing the six Chinese planes. Rs 2.94 billion out of that has been used for acquiring one MA-60 and a Y-12 in grant while one MA-60 and three Y-12 will be procured with the remaining Rs 3.72 billion as per the agreement. The NAC has sent a 12-page file about problems of the plane to the ministry. Sharma says the manufacturer should pay attention to basic things like spare parts, pilot training, and repair.