House poses hazard for aviation safety: TIA chief
KATHMANDU, Aug 5:
A house at Koteshwor near Tribhuwan International Airport (TIA) is not only bleeding international airline companies, including Nepal Airlines, dry but also posing a threat to aviation safety.
Wide-body and narrow-body aircraft that take off from TIA are compelled to carry less weight - either passenger or cargo - than full capacity because of the eight-storey house of Santa Lal Shahi.
The high-rise located near the international airport poses a safety threat to airliners, said general manager of TIA, Birendra Bahadur Shrestha.
At a time when Nepali skies have been blacklisted by the European Union due to aviation safety concerns, the authorities concerned have failed to demolish the problem high-rise.
Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) - the aviation sector regulator - after several complaints from international airlines, tried to resolve the problem. "We have even asked Kathmandu metropolis to provide us the approval document for the house construction," a high official at CAAN said, adding that CAAN has likewise sent some officials to the owner to discuss the problem faced by airliners. "However, the house owner became violent," he said adding, "Because of his political connections, the police also could not do anything."
Despite several requests from CAAN to demolish the house, the owner turned a deaf ear. He on the contrary added one more storey last year. This storey was damaged by the earthquake on April 25.
There is no option but to demolishing the house, Shrestha of TIA said, adding that the government should do so and compensate the owner. "Otherwise, it will have a long-term negative impact on Nepal's image abroad."
Meanwhile, the airlines have been incurring huge losses due to the house. "We have been incurring losses in the millions," an official of a Gulf-based airliner said.
The Shahi house at Koteshwor chowk has been making it difficult for commercial aircraft to fly with full payload as it stands tall at a distance of just 300 meters from where aircraft take off.
Aircraft of up to 300-seat capacity are compelled to carry six tonnes less, and aircraft of 150 to 170-seat capacity need to carry two tonnes less for fear of 'disaster' due to the house.
Similarly, big carriers carry 54 passengers less and small carriers 18 passengers less, according to the airline companies.
National flag carrier Nepal Airlines Corporation's Airbus A320 with its 185-seat capacity flies with just 140 passengers. NAC is losing Rs 540,000 per flight on its Kathmandu-Hong Kong one way flight as it has to fly 18 passengers less due to the house.
NAC Corporate Director Ramhari Sharma admitted that the national flag carrier has been incurring substantial losses. "Either we fly with less cargo or fewer passengers and either we we lose revenue," he said, adding that NAC has been complaining to the Tourism Ministry about this. Sharma also expressed surprise that the authorities have been so negligent over such a serious issue.
The international airliners are the biggest losers as they operate more flights to Kathmandu. Some of them have four flights a day, while others have one daily flight. Most of the international airlines fly smaller aircraft to Kathmandu. However, some like Qatar, Turkish and Thai Airways fly in their bigger planes.
"We have named it 'illegal house'," the official of the Gulf-based airline told Republica. "We have complained to the authorities several times," he said, adding that their pleas have gone unheard.
It has sent a negative message to the international market, he said. "Why can't the government simply demolish the house?"
According to a senior captain at Nepal Airlines, one cannot construct a house in a sensitive area near an international airport anywhere in the world except Nepal.
Source: Republica
