Kathmandu. KATHMANDU: Pratap Jung Pandey has been elected president of the Airlines Operators Association of Nepal (AAA).

The 25th annual general meeting of the association held today unanimously elected Pandey as the president. The elected members of the new working committee include Nimauru Sherpa (first vice-president), Subash Sapkota (bilateral vice-president), Umesh Paneru (third vice-president), Murlidhar Joshi (general secretary), Bal Krishna Pandit (secretary) and Rupesh Joshi (treasurer).

Sherpa is the proprietor of Altitude Air, CEO of Sapkota Airlines and CEO of Paneru Tara Air.

Similarly, General Secretary Joshi is the Managing Director of Simrik Air, Secretary Pandit is the Manager and Treasurer of Air Dynasty.

The members of the executive committee are Shrom Harsha Shrestha from Base Camp Helicopter, Dhanashyam Raj Acharya from Sita Air, Umesh Acharya from Saurya Airlines, Binod Thapa from Fishtail Air, Prajwal Thapa from Guna Airlines, Milan Maharjan from Himalaya Airlines, Novel Kumar Rajlawat from Prabhu Helicopters and Phurba Tsering Sherpa from Heli Everest.

Speaking at the program, President Pandey said that it has been easier to carry out operational and other works in CAN due to the understanding of leadership. He recalled that there are more companies that have closed down than those operating in the world. He said that attention should be paid to how to be sustainable in Nepal. He drew attention towards the increasing problem of flying fuel in the air and flight delay in Nepal. He recalled that the capacity of the hotel has reached 35 lakh but the number of tourists is only 1.1 million.

He said that it is necessary to do everything so that the airport can be utilized.

Acting Director General of Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal Devchandra Lal Karna suggested the airlines companies to make a long-term plan so that they would become strong in aviation sector.

He said that it would be difficult for the airlines to do business by bringing expensive Twin Otters to Nepal. He said that Nepal should also bring aircraft that can operate in remote areas and provide service.

Karna said that the regulatory body has now had to tighten the rules for the airlines operating only in the Sugam flights.

He said that the ATR 72-500 which was running in Nepal for the last time is now being phased out. He also urged the airlines concerned to make a plan to operate flights with 72-600 aircraft in the current situation.

He said that the job of the regulator is to regulate, but the regulation will pose a challenge to aviation safety.