KATHMANDU, July 13: It has been revealed that the Nepal Airlines Corporation (NAC) has been constantly incurring losses as a result of the 'disobedience' of acting general manager, Dipuraj Jwarchan. Between June 30 and July 4, the corporation suffered a loss of Rs 11.7 million.
According to the information received, it is said that the national flag carrier suffered a loss when Jwarchan refused to load the flight as per his responsibilities. According to the source, after becoming acting general manager, he refused to accept responsibility, causing the firm to lose money.
Although Jwarchan is in-charge of the general manager, he is also a pilot (captain) of Nepal Airlines. He was given the responsibility of acting general manager by the then Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Minister Prem Bahadur Ale Magar on June 23.
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Jwarchan was ‘requested' to fly on the Kathmandu-Bangalore-Kathmandu route on July 29 after all other pilots were unavailable, according to the source.
Another pilot S Bhandari was undergoing treatment for COVID-19. Similarly, all the remaining pilots are only allowed to fly for 100 hours per month. The Civil Aviation Authority and the IOAC have set a standard of only 100 hours per month for each pilot. That's why the rest of the pilots were unavailable and Jwarchan was requested to fly, the source said. With the request, he was also informed that the flight would have to be canceled if he did not fly.
Despite being the acting general manager of the NAC, he canceled the request and was found partying in Radisson Hotel and the corporation had to incur a huge loss.
The second such incident took place five days later on July 6. On that day, the Kathmandu-Bangkok-Kathmandu flight had to be operated. Here again, Jwarchan was the only pilot available.
For the same reason, the director of operations requested Jwarchan for a night flight. However, his request was immediately rejected by Jwarchan. On that flight, 153 people from Kathmandu to Bangkok and 115 people from Bangkok to Kathmandu had bought tickets. However, the source said that the flight schedule had to be changed after Jwarchan refused to fly.
That is why the corporation had to bear a loss of approx Rs 9.3 million, according to a source. By refusing to fly twice in five days, Jwarchan has caused a loss of at least Rs 11.7 million to the NAC.
According to a source, the two flight cancellations not only resulted in a financial loss but also harmed the corporation's brand. "Once deceived, a customer would never fly on a Nepal Airlines aircraft again," according to an insider. The deducted tickets must be returned here. It has had an impact on our reputation and our future."
Acting General Manager Jwarchan himself is a controversial figure. He has also been accused of corruption. The Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority is investigating the case.
He is accused of illegally acquiring property, financial irregularities within the corporation, discrimination in the flight schedule of pilots, appointment of director of operations against the legal provisions etc.
