All NAC's int'l flights to be halted

Leaving a daily loss of Rs. 15 million, Nepal Airlines Corporation (NAC) is suspending all its international flights from Tuesday for 13 days. The flights are being suspended as Boeing grounded following a faulty engine.

NAC Managing Director Gautam Das Shrestha informed the Finance Committee of Interim Legislature Parliament that the NAC would be removing the engine from the jet that was going away and fit it to the grounded aircraft. He also said the aircraft will take flight from January 1.

According to Shrestha, the corporation earned revenue of Rs 1.004 billion from its international flights during the first four months of the current fiscal year. NAC conducts 11 weekly flights to six countries.

At the meeting, parliamentarians underscored the need to reform the national flag carrier and operate it under the concept of public-private partnership. The NAC management kept the engine lying in Hong Kong for over 20 months without getting it overhauled as it wasted time in an effort to fulfill its "vested interests".