KATHMANDU, June 11: International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) is honoring Nepal in recognition of its efforts to remove itself from the Significant Security Concern (SSC) list.
A delegation of Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN), led by Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Rabindra Adhikari, left for Canada on Sunday to receive the honor.
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According to tourism ministry officials, ICAO will present Minister Adhikari with Council President Award and certification at the ICAO headquarters on Tuesday.
ICAO had removed Nepal from the SCC list on July 21, 2017. A meeting of SSC Validation Committee, held in ICAO headquarters in Montreal, had taken the decision after a detailed inspection of Nepali aviation sector from July 4 to July 11 in 2017. The global aviation body had included Nepal in its bad books in 2013 after it was unsatisfied with progress made by Nepal to make its airspace safe.
ICAO had sent a two-member audit team comprising of Captain Eugene Voundri and Aeronautical Engineer Edmund Bohland to study aviation safety situation in Nepal. The team had audited aviation legislation, flight operations, personnel licensing and air worthiness of Nepal's aviation sector.
An audit report prepared after the inspection stated that Nepal succeeded to meet the ICAO standards. According to the report, Nepal's compliance rate was 66.08 percent -- higher than ICAO's mandatory compliance rate of 60 percent.
According to the ministry officials, the certification ceremony will be a significant achievement in Nepali aviation sector. Moreover, the year 2017 has been considered a safer year for Nepal's aviation sector compared to the previous years, as only two accidents with two casualties were recorded during the year, they added.
