New Airbus grounded for lack of oil filter

KATHMANDU, MAR 11

Nepal Airlines Corporation (NAC) had to ground its brand new Airbus A320 on Monday for lack of an oil filter. Around 100 Delhi-bound passengers were stranded as a result.

The state-owned carrier said the oil filter on the jet needed to be changed after completing 100 flying hours. Since it did not keep this spare part in stock, it was being flown in from Hong Kong on Tuesday, NAC Spokesperson Ram Hari Sharma said.

Monday’s flight cancellation is the second one since the national flag carrier procured a new Airbus. On February 25, the inaugural flight to Delhi had to be abruptly called off one day before as the navigation and airport database of Delhi Airport had not been installed on the aircraft.

The NAC said latest planned flights were cancelled as it needed to change the oil filters in regular intervals. It said that the aircraft’s oil filter should be changed after completing 100 flying hours.

“The necessary replacement of the filter will be made on Tuesday,” Sharma said, adding that Wednesday morning’s scheduled flight to Delhi would not be affected.

“As we don’t have a scheduled flight on Tuesday, the stranded passengers will be flown to their destination on Wednesday,” he said. Most of the passengers were flown to Delhi on other airlines.

The missing spare part and resultant grounding of the new Airbus is evidence of the typical mismanagement at NAC, sources said. “The management should ensure that spare parts are available.”

The flag carrier made an extra flight on the Kathmandu -Delhi sector on Monday. On February 8, NAC took delivery of an Airbus A320, the first addition to its international fleet in decades, amid huge fanfare at Tribhuvan International Airport.

Source: The Kathmandu Post