Kathmandu — Hundreds of passengers have been affected after Nepal Airlines Corporation (NAC) was forced to cancel international flights following the grounding of both of its narrow-body aircraft.

 

ad

Since Friday, flight cancellations have disrupted travel plans, with 133 passengers bound for Dubai and 111 passengers returning from Dubai accommodated in hotels at the airline’s expense. The suspension of narrow-body operations has compelled NAC to cancel multiple flights to Guangzhou, Hong Kong, and Dubai.

 

Passengers have expressed anger after some flights were canceled even after check-in and entry into the sterile area of Tribhuvan International Airport. Videos circulating on social media show frustrated travelers protesting the sudden cancellations.

 

Incidents of misbehavior and physical assault against airline staff have also been reported. In one such incident, following the cancellation of a China-bound flight, some passengers were seen assaulting NAC shift in-charge Vijay Adhikari in the presence of airport police, as shown in social media footage.

 

Currently, both of NAC’s narrow-body aircraft are grounded due to technical issues. The aircraft named “Lumbini” was sent to Israel for an engine replacement but has yet to return to Nepal. The other aircraft, “Sagarmatha,” was grounded after arriving in Kathmandu from Bangkok late Friday night.

 

NAC Managing Director Amrit Man Shrestha said efforts are underway to repair the aircraft and resume regular operations. According to him, although required spare parts arrived in Kathmandu on Saturday evening, maintenance has been delayed due to customs and military-related procedural issues.

 

With narrow-body aircraft out of service, the airline has been forced to rely heavily on its two wide-body aircraft, creating significant operational pressure. NAC’s wide-body aircraft have a total engine flight cycle limit of 6,000 cycles. Currently, the Alpha Lima Yankee wide-body aircraft has around 500 cycles remaining, while the Alpha Lima Zulu has about 800 cycles left.

 

Both wide-body aircraft are expected to undergo major overhaul maintenance within the next month. An NAC director warned that using wide-body aircraft on short-haul routes would rapidly exhaust remaining flight cycles, leading to additional financial losses for the corporation.