Press Release

Issued by Aircraft Industries, a.s..

December 13, 2013

Thanks to the investment and modernization of production and aircraft, Aircraft Industries is able to thrive in new territories. Next year the Nepalese airline Goma Air will receive two new L410 UVP-E20 aircraft. One of the conditions to enter this market was to perform flight tests at Nepalese airports. The company, together with the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) completed these flight tests at Jomsom airport (2783 m above sea level and runway length of 745 m) and completed a successful take off and landing at Lukla airport, one of the most difficult airports in the world. The tests were successful and the type certificate was awarded by the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) and can therefore be operated in Nepal for passenger transport.

The innovation which helped us get onto the market was the installation of new propulsion units. The new propulsion units allow the aircraft to take off and landing higher altitude airports in the STOL category, which stands for aircraft which are able to take off on short runways. Large numbers of which are common in Nepal.

Currently operating in the harsh conditions of Nepal are the twin motor aircraft Twin Otter (Canadian made) and Dornier 228 (German made). These two aircraft are already old and came to Nepal as used aircraft. The delivery of our two L410 UVP-E20 aircraft will take place historically 40 years after the delivery of the first new aircraft on the Nepalese market.