Nepal’s aviation sector removed from ICAO’s SSC list: Minister Adhikari

KATHMANDU, June 22: Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil aviation, Rabindra Prasad Adhikari, has said that International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) has removed Nepal’s aviation sector from Significant Safety Concern (SSC) list.

Responding to queries raised over contemporary issues of civil aviation in meeting of the House of Representativeson Friday, Minister Adhikari informed the House that the ICAO had included Nepal’s aviation sector in the SSC list in 2013 and has now removed it from the list.

Minister Adhikari expressed commitment to remove Nepal’s aviation sector even from the SSC list of European Union soon.
He said that Nepal-Japan air service agreement was signed in 1993 and arrangement of 14 flights have been made in a week, expressing the belief that it would help to bring in Japanese tourists to Nepal.

The Tourism Minister further said that approval has been given for Nepalgunj-Delhi flight service today itself and the service would be operated within 3-4 months.

Saying arrangement of easy and smooth service has been made by ending syndicate on air charter service, Minister Adhikari said that construction works of Pokhara International Airport are underway in a speedy manner.

He said preparation was underway to bring the Pokhara International Airport into operation after completing the construction works by 2021 while construction works of Lumbini International Airport have been accelerated to bring the airport into operation within a year.