Fiscal Nepal
First Business News Portal in English from Nepal
NAC Widebody
KATHMANDU: A wide-body aircraft of Nepal Airlines Corporation (NAC), which was sent to Italy for a C-check, is unlikely to return within the scheduled timeframe after the airline awarded the maintenance contract to a company that had previously been criticized for failing to deliver aircraft on time.
The Airbus A330 wide-body aircraft with the call sign 9N-ALY was sent to Italy on July 7 for a C-check at Italy-based Atitech. It was originally scheduled to return to Nepal on August 2. However, delays in the C-check process mean the aircraft is unlikely to arrive as scheduled, according to a NAC employee familiar with the matter.
The employee said the latest delay could further disrupt the airline’s regular commercial operations at a time when NAC is already struggling with a declining share of the international aviation market and a shortage of operational aircraft.
“NAC’s international market share has already been declining day by day. The airline has fewer aircraft and weak management. On top of that, the C-check has again been assigned to a company that has previously failed to deliver on time,” the employee said.
According to the employee, the same company had previously taken an NAC aircraft to Italy for a C-check and kept it there for nearly three months, causing operational difficulties for the national flag carrier.
The employee warned that the delay in returning the aircraft could further affect NAC’s regular commercial flights and create additional disruptions to its flight schedule.
The 9N-ALY aircraft was sent to Atitech on July 7 for mandatory maintenance. NAC is reportedly preparing to send its other wide-body aircraft to Italy for a C-check after the 9N-ALY returns to Nepal.
The C-check is a comprehensive periodic maintenance inspection required to ensure the airworthiness and operational safety of an aircraft. Such inspections can keep an aircraft grounded for an extended period, making timely completion critical for airlines operating with limited fleets.
NAC has been facing mounting financial pressure while carrying a debt burden of nearly Rs 50 billion. The airline has struggled to maintain consistent and efficient commercial operations due to fleet constraints and management challenges, further worsening its financial condition.
The latest delay in the return of the wide-body aircraft could put additional pressure on the airline’s already limited fleet and potentially affect its international flight operations.
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