December 22: Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Prem Bahadur Ale has said that state-owned Nepal Airlines Corporation (NAC) will not be privatized.

Informing that it was a ministerial decision not to privatize the NAC, he expressed his commitment to enhance the national flag bearer of Nepal. He also said that the Government of Nepal would assist NAC in adding new aircraft to its fleet.

During a meeting with NAC officials on Tuesday, Tourism Minister Ale said that the number of aircraft would be increased and the fares would be made competitive.

Minister Ale also directed officials of NAC to allocate at least 40 low-fare tickets for Nepali migrant workers going abroad for foreign employment. Currently, NAC has been offering 20 such seats to the migrant workers bound for foreign countries.  

Minister Ale also asked the NAC team to prevent intermediaries from providing air tickets to the migrant workers at the NAC premises.    

During the interaction, secretary at the ministry, Maheshwor Neupane, instructed the NAC to concentrate on profit-making through maximum utilization of its available means, resources and human resources in line with business plan.   

Yubaraj Adhikari, executive chairman of NAC, informed that the corporation has been granted permission to transport dangerous goods due to its safety commitments. He added that the NAC  has gained worldwide recognition after bilateral agreements with international airliners to use NAC’s ticket for flights to Europe and other destinations. He also said that the corporation has helped expand the market of Nepali products in the international market by opening a sales center.

Stating that the regularity of flights has increased and the number of passengers has also reached 80 percent of the seating capacity, he said that the process of flying to Riyadh in the Middle East has also reached the final stage of agreement. (With inputs from RSS)