Nepal Airlines Corporation (NAC) has cancelled 45 percent of its international flights after one of its three operational jets was sent off for a 45-day maintenance on Sunday.

The national flag carrier now has only two Airbus A320 aircraft serving international routes after its Boeing 757 left for its scheduled maintenance.

NAC said 17 out of its 37 weekly flights had been cancelled, which will affect more than 6,000 passengers holding confirmed tickets per week.

“Overall, it’s a reduction of 17-18 flights per week,” said Rabindra Shrestha, spokesperson for NAC. “It’s a big reduction for an airline that has only three jets in operation.”

Shrestha said that passengers who have booked flights would be transferred to other airlines or provided accommodation facility. He added that passengers could also get a refund if either of the options was not agreeable to them. “It’s expected to hit the corporation’s revenue,” Shrestha said.

The national flag carrier said that losses could also mount as there are many passengers who need to be transferred to another flight. If they miss their connecting flight, NAC is responsible for fully compensating them, the airline said. “However, we have tightened up on advance bookings to prevent further losses,” said Shrestha.

The crisis emerged after NAC’s plan to wet lease an Airbus A319 from Bhutan Airlines to substitute for its Boeing 757 had to be cancelled due to the Civil Aviation Policy. The Civil Aviation Policy prohibits imports of pressurized aircraft that are more than 15 years old, and the Bhutanese jet is 17 years old.

The Tourism Ministry had even tabled a proposal at the Prime Minister’s Office last week to find a ‘stopgap measure’ to enable NAC to lease an aircraft from Bhutan Airlines for a short period. The tourism portfolio is currently held by Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba. The proposal was sent back and the ministry was told to begin a fresh process.

However, NAC officials said that it was not possible to begin a fresh process as it would take at least a month, while its Boeing would be away for 45 days. NAC said it expected to get back the Boeing 757 by September when bookings for the festive Dashain and tourist seasons reach a peak. 

On April 24, NAC had invited bids for the wet lease of an Airbus A320. However, it failed to attract bidders even after issuing bid notices twice.

On June 1, NAC again invited bids for the wet lease of an Airbus A319, A320 or A321. This time, Ukraine-based aircraft leasing company 12 Star Aviation and Bhutan Airlines submitted their proposals. The Ukrainian company’s offer had to be rejected as it did not fulfil the technical requirements.

The corporation had planned to operate the leased aircraft on scheduled flights to Kuala Lumpur, Doha, Delhi and Bangalore or other destinations.

International passenger traffic swelled 9.12 percent to 3.51 million in 2016, according to Tribhuvan International Airport data.

Nepal Airlines topped the list of carriers with the highest number of passengers. It flew 384,327 passengers, up 51.51 percent, last year.