The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) has grounded the private carrier Guna Airlines (RMK, Kathmandu) amid allegations that the airline has failed to pay employee salaries, including for flight crews and there are arrears of various sectors of the company.
Guna Airlines flights have been closed since last Wednesday. Earlier, Guna had said that the flight was stopped because the spare parts were being brought from abroad for the repair of the plane and the pilots were undergoing training.
In operation since 2009, Guna Airlines owns seven aircraft, connecting Kathmandu with major towns. They include five Jetstream 4100 and two Beechcraft 1900C.
Guna Airlines had three aircraft in operation currently. These planes are flying to Tumlingtar, Pokhara, Biratnagar, Bhairahawa, Bharatpur, Simra and other destinations.
CAAN Spokesperson Jagannath Niraula said that the air safety department has suspended the flight for the time being after raising questions about the reliability of the passenger service. He said that the authority wrote to the company on Monday not to fly immediately.
“It seems that the financial situation of the company is weak and there are arrears of employees and various sectors in the company. In such a situation, it was seen that the flight safety of the airlines will be affected. Keeping in mind the safety of passengers, we have suspended the Guna Airlines flights until further notice," spokesperson Niraula said.
Meanwhile, the airline has said that it has not received any flight suspension letter from CAAN. Spokesman Prajwal Thapa said regular flights were affected due to pilot training and shortage of spare parts.
"We have stopped the flight for our own reasons at present. No official letter has come from the authority," Spokesperson Thapa said. "We were preparing to fly regularly from Monday. However, due to some reason, it was not possible to fly.”
Real estate businessman Rajendra Shakya had brought this airline back into operation two years ago. Shakya revived this airline with an investment of one billion rupees. He bought five jet stream planes of Yeti Airlines for one billion rupees and brought the company back into operation.
Shakya had ambitiously promoted the airline company by managing finances for 15 years, but is in trouble with the authority's present decision.
