It came to light today that Nepal Airlines Corporation(NAC), a government owned and operated airlines in Nepal, has requested “eight planes from the northern neighbor as a grant.” The story from eKantipur quotes Krishna Hari Banskota, Finance Secretary at the Ministry of Finance as saying that “if it is not possible as a grant, we have also requested China to provide a soft loan.”
This is the state of the government run airlines in Nepal—it needs to beg for planes!
Now, when one begs for gifts, one loses the right to complain or receive any compensation for any faults with the gift. In other words, one might be stuck with a long bill on repairs and other expenses if the gift is faulty. It seems like the officials at the Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation and Ministry of Finance have discounted these possible future costs. Even if China donates brand new planes (highly unlikely) to Nepal, this story demonstrates the colossal failure of the NAC. It is highly inefficient, lacks the trust of the flying public, and is “incurring Rs 50 million in losses annually from each aircraft serving the remote sector.”
It is high time that we dismantle the NAC!
This can be done in phases and in partnership with private air carriers to have little or no impact on employment. In an industry that has grown with the entry of private carries, NAC’s existence only hinders the improvements that are possible in air travel in Nepal. It takes teh government away from the actual job that it should be doing--making travel safe and secure.The government should move away from trying to provide flights and concentrate more on improving the infrastructure to support the industry. The increase in crashes in recent years and the damage to the runway in Kathmandu are some examples of the failure of various government bodies associated with air travel and tourism. It is also an indication of the bigger problem of corruption in the Nepali public sector.
Getting new planes, whether for free or for a “soft loan” from China, ignores the underlying problem at the NAC, drains the national treasure, while postponing the inevitable.
How quickly we forget the Lauda scandal!
This is the state of the government run airlines in Nepal—it needs to beg for planes!
Now, when one begs for gifts, one loses the right to complain or receive any compensation for any faults with the gift. In other words, one might be stuck with a long bill on repairs and other expenses if the gift is faulty. It seems like the officials at the Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation and Ministry of Finance have discounted these possible future costs. Even if China donates brand new planes (highly unlikely) to Nepal, this story demonstrates the colossal failure of the NAC. It is highly inefficient, lacks the trust of the flying public, and is “incurring Rs 50 million in losses annually from each aircraft serving the remote sector.”
It is high time that we dismantle the NAC!
This can be done in phases and in partnership with private air carriers to have little or no impact on employment. In an industry that has grown with the entry of private carries, NAC’s existence only hinders the improvements that are possible in air travel in Nepal. It takes teh government away from the actual job that it should be doing--making travel safe and secure.The government should move away from trying to provide flights and concentrate more on improving the infrastructure to support the industry. The increase in crashes in recent years and the damage to the runway in Kathmandu are some examples of the failure of various government bodies associated with air travel and tourism. It is also an indication of the bigger problem of corruption in the Nepali public sector.
Getting new planes, whether for free or for a “soft loan” from China, ignores the underlying problem at the NAC, drains the national treasure, while postponing the inevitable.
How quickly we forget the Lauda scandal!
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