Praising the efforts taken by Nepal to ramp up and tighten its air safety norms, the European Union (EU) said it will be easy to go through the process to delist Nepal Airline from the blacklisting, The Himalayan Times reported. 

“EU has been aware of a progress Nepal has achieved in air safety and the registration of new Civil Aviation Bill in the Federal Parliament. It will be easy to go through the process to remove Nepal from its blacklist.”

EU had banned Nepal Airlines from flying into its air space in 2013 after the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) flagged safety concerns. ICAO, however, removed the country from the significant safety concern list in 2017. 

Air Safety Report 2020 took note of reduced decreasing air incidents, the adoption of modern safety systems, and enhanced efficiency of its workforce.

A team including the Director-General of the EU will visit the country to take stock of air safety. After the positive response from the EU to Nepal’s air safety, our chances of delisting has increased now, said Buddhi Sagar Lamichhane, Joint Secretary of Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation.