The European Union and its member states congratulate Nepal for International Civil Aviation Day which is being celebrated tomorrow (Monday). The aim of this day is to generate awareness on the importance of international civil aviation for the social and economic development of the nation to cooperate and release safe, efficient and sustainable air transportation.

“We applaud the Government of Nepal for its firm commitment to improving safety mechanisms as progress has been made in recent years to address the challenges of aviation safety. The Commission is aware of the efforts that have been undertaken by the country, notably as regards the proposed new aviation legislation currently before Nepal Parliament. It would be key for this legislation to be adopted by the Parliament and subsequently implemented. This would allow the Commission to advance with the process of eventually removing Nepal from the EU Air Safety List: standard process specifically includes i).organising a technical meeting (in Brussels) with CAAN to review the progress made; ii).organising a subsequent on-site visit to Nepal by DG MOVE, EASA, and air safety experts from the Member States, which is needed in order to make a determination about the effective implementation of the safety enhancements, and iii).enacting the eventual removal from the EU Air Safety List by way of a Commission proposal to be endorsed by the EU Air Safety Committee,” states a press release issued by Delegation of the European Union to Nepal.

The European Commission with the assistance of the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), will deliver concrete and demand-driven technical assistance to the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal in order to support Nepal’s efforts to enhance the aviation safety oversight in Nepal. This activity complements the actions undertaken in the context of the EU – South Asian Aviation Partnership Project, an EU funded project implemented by EASA that will be renewed for a period of 36 months (with a budget of € 5.5 million).In the context of this project, CAAN has made efforts at the local and regional level to improve its safety management both in terms of internal processes and in its relationship with other related stakeholders. Furthermore, France and Germany are implementing specific aviation safety technical assistance to the CAAN.