Nepal Airlines has chosen to sell five of its Chinese airplanes that have been grounded for more than two years due to concerns about the effectiveness and quality of Chinese-made aircraft.
After no one expressed interest in leasing the aircraft, the national carrier, which is operating at a loss, made the final choice.
‘We had zero bids for the prolonged period, either. Currently, the management has chosen to sell them,’ explained a Nepal Airlines official.
‘The appointment of the assessor can take two to three weeks. In order to sell the planes, we will launch a global tender based on the assessor’s findings,’ he added.
Eight years ago, Nepal Airlines bought three 17-seater Y12e and two 56-seater MA60 aircraft with great fanfare.
The primary objective was to use the aircraft on underutilised alpine routes. But shortly, issues with the planes’ mechanical and technical systems began to occur fairly frequently.
The airline firm claims that this resulted in significant losses because the aircraft spent more time on the ground than in the air.
As a result, the five aircraft have been accumulating dust for the past two years in a remote parking area on the eastern side of Kathmandu’s Tribhuvan International Airport.
Nepal Airlines wanted to get rid of the defunct Chinese airplanes much earlier but the bureaucratic hassle meant they had to hold onto them. Experts believe that even after putting the airplanes up for sale, the airline may not get a lot of takers.
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