Guna Airlines, a domestic carrier of Nepal, has sent a letter to the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) illustrating the will to re-operate committing to pay the the remaining dues to concerned authorities. after dues after the final warning of aircraft auction.
Guna Airlines has informed about the commitment to pay the dues after CAAN warned of auctioning all the aircraft for unpaid dues. Guna Airlines still owes a service charge of NPR 50 million.
The company has requested to provide installment facility, stating that they are unable to pay all the amounts at once. “Guna Airlines has committed to pay the dues in monthly installments by presenting a revised business plan to the authority. An application has also been submitted for resuming commercial flights,” said an employee of Guna Airlines. “Information about the AOC renewal process has also come,” they added.
According to the employee, the company has proposed a plan to settle the dues ranging from NPR 3 to 4 million monthly. Guna Airlines director Rajendra Shakya mentioned that preparations are underway to start commercial flights along with pilot training at the headquarters. He informed that preparations for operating flights through the existing aircraft are underway.
“Now we don’t just have the aircraft on ground, we have a plan to sell the aircraft we currently have. However, if a company comes forward to buy the aircraft at a good price, we will sell them immediately,” he said.
The company is preparing to advance the flight process after completing the documentation work within the month of Chaitra. Shakya informed about the information on installment payment of dues through bank guarantee. CAAN had seized the bank guarantee along with the AOC three months ago.
After failing the financial audit of CAAN a year ago, Gun Airlines’ flights were banned. After obtaining information that salaries were not paid to pilots and air hostesses, CAAN conducted a financial audit.
Gun had purchased phased-out aircraft from Yeti Airlines. The company has two helicopters and five Jet Streams J41. J41 have been discontinued to produce by the manufacturer. It is seen that more damage will be incurred by these aircraft to obtain parts for maintenance. Right now, it’s hard to manage operation costs even in a moderate manner.
According to sources, Guna’s director Shakya is also struggling to pay the interest on loans taken from various financial institutions. “They are also struggling to pay the interest on loans taken from various banks. In such a difficult situation, they cannot operate the aircraft,” said the source. “They may try to keep AOC active,” the source added.
