It was another of those committees formed to cure the ailing national flag carrier. But, this one ended on a different note: don't privatise the Royal Nepal Airlines. Three months ago the government put together an investigation committee which submitted its report to Civil Aviation Minister Kuber Sharma on Tuesday.
The two part document outlines long and short term recommendations. It says the corporation should follow its rules and regulations seriously, suggests there should be no government interference in its day-to-day functions and facilities for employees should be given due attention. The anti-privatisation bias of the report is in sharp contrast to an earlier report prepared by a team headed by then National Planning Commission vice-chairman Shanker Sharma. His team said the government should either privatise or establish the state-run enterprise as a public limited company. Rocked by corruption scandals and the post 9/11 slump in air travel, the airline has been scaling back both domestic and international operations.