The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) announced on 21 July that Nepal’s aviation industry passed a safety audit conducted by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). Because of this, the ICAO removed Nepal’s “Significant Safety Concern” status, allowing Nepal to expand its state-owned and private airlines into a number of foreign countries. “The red mark over Nepal is gone,” said Sanjeev Gautam, director general of CAAN.

The Nepalese aviation industry is still on the European Commission’s blacklist since December 2013, and thus cannot operate into the European Union. CAAN hopes that Nepal’s shedding of the ICAO Significant Safety Concern status will help the country’s case with European Commission, as Nepalese airlines eagerly await the day when they can expand into the EU. Read more here.