Nepal Airlines Seeks to Sell Off Faulty Chinese Planes at ‘Junkyard Price’ Due to Unusability

Nepal Airlines is planning to sell its Chinese planes that have been almost junk as an insider said is junkyard price. Acquired between 2014 and 2018, the six aircraft were worth Rupees 6.66 billion in grants and loans. One of the planes has since crashed. two MA60s and four Y12es from China were part of a deal where Kathmandu was required to buy several aircraft to get some for free. The national flag carrier is asking Rs220 million for the remaining five aircraft in an apparent effort to get rid of them as fast as possible!!

Why Nepal is selling Chinese Aircraft?

Nepal had been nudging China for years to gift it planes but at last, they came around to buy the six planes after Beijing told the government that it would need to buy aircraft from them before it could expect the gift. Kathmandu agreed to buy six and got two more as gifts. But as per top officials that are cited by Nepalese news portal Kathmandu Post, these grounded planes “have been more trouble than they are worth.”

Due to a very high maintenance cost, operating them has become extremely expensive for already debt-ridden Nepal Airlines. Adding more to that, a shortage of suitable pilots and unreliability due to the crashing accident further made the airline get rid of the planes as soon as possible. The planes have been grounded for at least three years. Pahari earlier called the decision to buy the aircraft, Nepal’s worst decision and he had also claimed that “Nepal Airlines is paying the price now. Flying these planes means throwing good money after bad,”

That’s why Nepal Airlines has now put the aircraft up for sale at a mere 220 million Nepalese Rupees (US$1.65 million). According to a highly-placed source at Nepal Airlines Corporation cited by Kathmandu Post, This price was determined by an independent international assessor. “Now everyone is in a dilemma, including the Nepal Airlines board, which is reluctant to consent to sell the planes at the throwaway price,” said the Tourism Ministry, cited by Kathmandu Post, he also said that the Nepal Airlines board is not pleased with the idea of selling the costly planes at such a low price.