On January 15, 2023 An ATR 72-500 operated by Yeti Airlines crashed near Pokhara, Nepal, killing at least 70 passengers. The plane was on its way from Nepal’s capital Kathmandu to its second largest city, Pokhara, which lies at the foot of the beautiful Annapurna mountain range. The country’s attractive geography may attract tourists, but it presents serious difficulties for aviation operators, who must adapt and overcome it. Sunday’s air tragedy in Nepal was the worst since 1992. The nation is striving to overcome its aviation difficulties.
a challenging landscape
The topography has gifted Nepal with picturesque landscapes but has also presented unique challenges for flight operations. Nepal, located between India and China, is home to eight of the world’s 14 highest mountains, including Mount Everest or Sagarmatha. For flight operations, it is a nearly inhospitable, harsh environment with sudden weather changes that can make for dangerous situations.
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Airports built in mountainous regions often require short runways that can only accommodate turboprop-powered regional aircraft rather than the large jets that can reach Nepal’s larger cities. As a result, there are different types of aircraft in the fleet of aviation carriers in Nepal. These craft vary in position, presenting potential safety hazards.
The ATR 72 aircraft is a typical aircraft used by the Nepalese carriers. It is a turboprop-powered regional airliner with a capacity of 44 and 78 passengers. A joint venture between Airbus in France and Leonardo in Italy manufactures these planes. The aircraft involved in this accident had been in service for 15 years, a normal age for an aircraft. A final report on what happened to the tragic Yeti Airlines flight will take more than a month to complete.
The growing and rapidly changing aviation industry
Nepal has welcomed private investment in its aviation sector since 1992. Yeti Airlines is one of 20 domestic carriers. The airline headquartered in Kathmandu flies to ten domestic destinations using ATR 72-500 aircraft. Apart from this, 29 international airlines operate in the capital of Nepal as well.
With air travel becoming more accessible and affordable in Nepal, the development of airport infrastructure has lagged far behind the development of air traffic. This has resulted in reduced airport congestion, fare competition and safety records.
In fact, the country has recorded at least 350 casualties involving airplanes or helicopters since 2000, raising questions about the effectiveness of its aviation safety regulations. The aviation regulator in charge is the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal, a government agency established in 1998.
work on improving air safety
Nepal became a member of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) of the United Nations in 1960. This membership obliges the country to follow international conventions, ICAO rules, standards and recommended practices in aviation safety.
While Nepal’s aviation industry has made significant efforts to improve safety, unfortunately, the safety record must still conform to the requirements of other civil aviation authorities. Notably, the European Union banned all Nepalese airlines from operating in the bloc’s airspace in 2013 after a red flag was raised by ICAO. That ban still needs to be lifted, and Nepal remains on the EU’s air safety list.
Despite the sad accident record, Nepal has stepped up its efforts to improve aviation safety. The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal is focusing on improving the safety in Nepalese aviation. Such as making improvements at airports, upgrading security equipment and promoting a positive security culture by encouraging the reporting of threats.
ICAO recognized Nepal’s considerable improvement in safeguards measures and compliance with international standards in 2018. However, the country must continue working on its aviation reforms to make its skies safe for all.
with PTI inputs