The new radar will improve air transport safety and prevent accidents during bad weather
The new radar will improve air transport safety and prevent accidents during bad weather. (Photo: PTI)
Kathmandu: Nepal is installing a new radar system and weather forecasting equipments to improve air transport safety and prevent accidents during bad weather, particularly in mountain regions, authorities said on Wednesday amid growing air accidents.
"The government is installing an advanced radar system at Bhattedanda, a hill station situated in the south of Kathmandu, which will cover the entire country," Sushil Ghimire, secretary at the Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation addressing, said at a workshop on air safety here.
Nepal currently has only one old radar system installed at the Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu, which operates only in a limited range.
Many airstrips in the Himalayan nation are in mountain ranges, making flying risky during bad weather.
Ghimire said antenna cameras are being installed in various airports outside Kathmandu that will transmit data and images to flight controllers in Kathmandu so they will be able to determine whether flying is safe.
In February, 18 people were killed when a plane slammed into a mountain during bad weather.
The European Union in December last year imposed operation ban in Nepal's airports in view of lack of air safety mechanism and growing incidents of air accidents.
The government of Nepal has signed an MoU with Japan's Weather News, to install antenna cameras in the hilly regions of the country so as to get real time weather data which can be utilised for monitoring weather conditions for improving air safety, secretary Ghimire said.
The government is also allocating more budgets for capacity enhancement including regular training on air safety for existing pilots and new entrants, he said.
( Source : PTI )
Next Story
