CAAN’s request to prohibit the import of European helicopters is rejected by the Aviation Ministry

Concerns over safety have led the Ministry of Culture, Tourism, and Civil Aviation (MoCTCA) to reject the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal’s (CAAN) recommendation to prohibit the entry of European helicopters.

The European corporation Airbus manufactures the majority of the helicopters involved in accidents in Nepal, according to the suggestion made by the civil aviation regulating agency.

Hansa Raj Pandey, the CAAN’s deputy director general, informed that the ministry had rejected a proposal that was provided to it following internal deliberation, taking into account the difficulties in operating frequent helicopter flights because of a restriction that is focused on Europe.

“The ministry has rejected our proposed restriction on the import of European helicopters,” Pandey stated, adding “We merely submitted a proposal to the ministry to find out their position on the matter rather than creating a draft of a new policy to outlaw European helicopters.”

According to Pandey, the authority’s current rules regarding the minimal technological equipment needed to ensure aviation safety and the history of mishaps in Nepal are the basis for the ban on the import of helicopters made by European businesses.

The CAAN is concerned that European helicopter manufacturers are utilizing Nepali airspace as a test site and a publicity ploy for helicopter sales around the world, Pandey told.

“In order to advertise their aircraft internationally, we have observed that European companies frequently demonstrate their helicopters’ proficiency in Nepal’s challenging airspace and terrain,” Pandey said.

The China-based Harbin Aircraft Industry Group’s decision to market its helicopters in Africa by leveraging its presence in Nepal as a marketing tool sparked the debate on prohibiting the import of helicopters made by European firms, according to a senior CAAN official.

According to Pandey, a prohibition on the importation of European helicopters will be implemented due to their lesser power, which makes them unsuitable for the terrain of Nepal.

According to him, “European helicopters are not suitable for Nepal’s airspace because Airbus helicopters, such as the H125 and H130, which are the most popular in the country, have less than 1700 horsepower.” He went on to say that the minimum criterion of 3000 horsepower helicopters for importation into Nepal is mentioned in the planned ban on European helicopters.

Airbus is the manufacturer of the majority of the helicopters that fly over Nepal. Bell Textron, a US-based firm, makes helicopters that are owned by a select few companies. Bell Textron will greatly benefit from the authority’s decision because its helicopters can produce up to 3,000 horsepower.

Pandey claims that the import of Airbus helicopters that Mountain Air had purchased through a letter of credit had already been halted by the authority. According to reports, the helicopters have already arrived in China.

According to the source, the European Aviation Safety Agency’s practice of maintaining Nepali airline operators on its blacklist despite Nepal’s improvement in the majority of safety metrics over the last ten years was also refuted by the CAAN’s decision to prohibit the importation of European helicopters.

The EASA has still prohibited our national flag carrier, Nepal Airlines, from operating in European airspace, despite the fact that “Over the past ten years, we have improved Nepal’s aviation safety laws to the point that the country’s safety evaluation rating is greater than the global average,” the source stated. The government has filed two legislation in the parliament after the EASA demanded that the CAAN be divided into an aviation service provider and a regulatory organization in order to raise safety standards.

Pandey rejected the CAAN’s purportedly punitive position on the EASA. At the moment, Nepal’s aviation services and aircraft equipment imports both follow EASA regulations, and the majority of our aircraft are built in Europe. “It would not be prudent to ban the imports of European aircraft in this scenario,” he said, adding that even pilots who are accredited by the US Federal Aviation Authority must obtain an EASA license in order to fly aircraft in Nepal.

According to a different CAAN source, the planned prohibition was primarily motivated by the country’s monopoly market presence and excessive reliance on EASA for aviation operations.