Many of our treks and climbs in Nepal involve an internal flight to access mountain areas from the main hub of Kathmandu. In some cases it’s possible to reach these destinations by road but this involves additional days and many treks and climbs in Nepal are not practical without the use of local air transportation.
In December 2013 the European Commission updated the EU air safety list. The Commission decided to put all airlines from Nepal on the EU air safety list. Therefore, all Nepal-based air operators are now banned from flying within EU airspace. This clearly does not have a direct effect on the operations of the internal flight operations in Nepal. However, "the EU air safety list" is also used as a guide to air safety standards, by some organisations, for other purposes. For example, some travel insurance policies may carry exclusions linked to this. It is therefore important that you check with your travel insurance provider that your cover is not invalidated if you travel with a Nepali air operator.
Adventure Alternative has an ongoing programme of structured reviews of the internal flights that we use as part of our itineraries and the flight operators that we use. As part of this process we review published safety information including the Flight Safety Foundation Aviation Safety Database, the International Air Transport Association, the International Civil Aviation Organisation, the European Commission on Transport and the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office. Importantly, this information is then further informed by local contacts and the knowledge and experience of our in-country staff.
In May 2013 Adventure Alternative, in addition to our standard procedures and before the EU airspace ban, collaborated in sponsoring an audit of the main operators who provide flights to Lukla. As a result of these audits two airlines were commended on their organisational and safety procedures; this is who we use for all Adventure Alternative internal flights.
Adventure Alternative is an honest and upfront company. We prefer our clients to be informed and aware. Obviously any travel comes with certain risks but in light of the update to the EU air safety list, you must ensure that you understand the situation in Nepal and of course understand that we (depending on your itinerary) will be using internal air travel.
The provider of our Tour Operators’ Liability insurance has confirmed that our company insurance policies will remain valid.
References:-
[1] European Commission press release - http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-13-1201_en.htm