The Tourism Ministry is in dilemma over whether to renew Simrik Airlines’ flying licence that expired 15 months ago.

Ministry officials have been conducting rounds of meetings exploring legal grounds to renew the permit of the airline that has been grounded since Monday. On Wednesday, the issue was discussed at the Prime Minister’s Office. “The airline’s flying licence has expired,” said Prem Kumar Rai, secretary at the ministry. “It has two alternatives now—either begin a fresh process to obtain a new licence or convince the minister to table a proposal at the Cabinet to extend the permit in recognition of its contribution to the industry.”

According to ministry officials, they are waiting for the appointment of a new Tourism Minister to get the issue sorted out.

As per the regulation, domestic airlines must renew their licenses every four years. They have to renew the permit within one year after its expiry.

In a statement, the airline said it was unable to renew its licence due to last year’s earthquakes and subsequent trade embargo. “It was our mistake,” the airline said, apologising to its customers.

Simrik said it has initiated the process to renew the licence. “The process could be delayed as the minister is yet to be appointed,” the statement read.

According to ministry officials, it will take at least a week to issue a new licence if the airline applies for the same. However, the airline should pay an additional Rs600,000 to renew its route permit. The carrier has been approved 20 domestic routes and the royalty for each route stands at Rs30,000. To initiate a fresh licence process, it has to show a bank guarantee of Rs2 million and should have a paid-up capital of Rs20 million.

After the issuance of the licence, the airline should start the process of renewing its Air Operator Certificate (AOC) from the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal.

Caan renewed AOC under expired permit

In yet another safety lapse, the civil aviation regulator renewed the Air Operator Certificate (AOC) of Simrik Airlines despite the expiration of the carrier’s flying licence 15 months ago, it has been revealed. “How did the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (Caan) renew the AOC of an airline whose licence has been expired?” questioned a senior Caan official. “It demands a serious investigation into such safety lapses.” The Internatio-nal Civil Aviation Organisation had given the significant safety concern tag to Nepal’s aviation sector in its audit report in Aug 2013 on the ground of Nepal’s inability to oversee air safety.