15 ministers, 15 years later, Nepal’s aviation overhaul remains grounded

With the European Union maintaining its flight ban on Nepali airlines in its latest safety list, the new government faces pressure to bifurcate CAAN and deliver aviation reform.

For more than 15 years, Nepal has promised the world that it would reform its aviation sector. Fifteen tourism ministers have come and gone. Draft laws have been prepared, revised, endorsed, withdrawn and reintroduced. Yet one of the most critical reforms demanded by international aviation watchdogs—the separation of Nepal’s civil aviation regulator from its service provider—remains unfinished.