NAC-ional shame

It is a matter of time before the inevitable question crops up: Why do we need this white elephant?

Flight delays lasting hours or even days have become the unfortunate norm for anyone flying with an aircraft of the Nepal Airlines Corporation (NAC), the country’s national flag carrier. On Saturday, for instance, its ‘Sagarmatha’ narrow-body aircraft flew from Delhi after a 19-hour delay due to oil filter issues, while the ‘Lumbini’ experienced a three-hour delay after its computer system malfunctioned en route to Dubai. Meanwhile, the wide-body ‘Annapurna’ has been grounded at the Tribhuvan International Airport since last Thursday due to engine trouble, while another wide-body, ‘Makalu’, is undergoing maintenance in Italy. These incidents have left countless passengers stranded at airports, both at home and abroad.