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Airline Operators Association of Nepal (AOAN) has stated that it is impossible to implement the decision of the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) to have two pilots on a single-engine helicopter.

CAAN had suggested that even single-engine helicopters should have two pilots but the Airline Operators Association of Nepal has said that it wasn’t practical to have two pilots on commercial flights. A five-member technical team from CAAN is studying the possibility of having two pilots on a helicopter.

Captain Rameshwar Thapa, president of the Airline Operators Association of Nepa, said helicopter companies would collapse if such a rule was in place. He said that the companies couldn’t bear the cost of paying salaries to two pilots on a helicopter that only had one engine.

But he did say that there was no problem in having two pilots in a helicopter with a capacity of more than nine seats.

“We don’t have enough pilots as it is. If this rule is put in place, helicopter companies would collapse,” he says.

There are 11 helicopter companies operating in Nepal and have 31 single-engine helicopters and 5 double-engine helicopters. Ten foreign and 26 Nepali pilots have been flying helicopters with one engine.

Daily flights to and from Simara Airport have been curtailed from June 7 to 27 citing maintenance at the airport site.

Chief of Simara Airport Bhupendra Bhatta said that flights will take place only from 6:00 am to 11:00 am during the period. 

Bhatta shared that total daily flights have been reduced to six from twelve for 20 days starting June 7.

The Simara Airport, which was awaiting renovation for years, is being maintained by reducing the daily flights lately.

Saptakoshi Construction Service Company has won the tender for the facelift of the airport, it is said.

Most of the parts of the country are likely to witness cloudy weather conditions today while some regions will receive light to medium rainfall with thunderstorms. 

According to the Meteorological Forecast Division of the Department of Hydrology and Meteorology, some places of Province 1, Bagmati Province, Gandaki Province and Madhes Province in the country are likely to receive light to moderate rainfall coupled with storm, thunderstorms and lightning due to local wind and low pressure line spread from Uttar Pradesh of India to Bangladesh.

Currently, light rainfall is taking place in some parts of Province 1 while the weather is generally cloudy in Province 1, Madhes Province and Bagmati Province. 

The Department has cautioned the locals to apply safety measures as light to moderate rainfall is likely with thunderstorms and heavy storms in some parts of Province 1, Madhes Province, Bagmati Province and Gandaki Province. 

According to the Department, the Kathmandu Valley recorded a minimum temperature of 18.5 degree Celsius in the past 24 hours while the maximum temperature was 31.2 degree Celsius.

A total of 190,739 tourists visited Nepal in the first five months of the year 2022.

Referring to the data from the Department of Immigration, the Nepal Tourism Board said 53,608 tourists arrived in the month of May while the number of tourist arrivals in April was 58,384.

Director of Nepal Tourism Board Maniraj Lamichhane said the tourism industry in the country has recovered by almost 75 per cent compared to the time prior to COVID-19 outbreak. Tourism industry in the country witnessed a severe blow after the COVID-19 pandemic.  

According to Director Lamichhane, the country has witnessed a positive growth in tourist arrival from Bangladesh and Europe for the recovery of tourism.