Nepal Pilots’ Summit 2025 to inaugurate the Pilot Association of Nepal (PAN)

On April 19, 2025, the Pilot Association of Nepal (PAN) will host the inaugural Nepal Pilots’ Summit. The event is set to take place at The Malla Hotel, Lainchaur, Kathmandu, at 5:00 PM. Aviation professionals from across Nepal will be a part of an evening full of insightful discussion, and collective celebration of aviation in the nation.

Nepal’s minister for Culture, Tourism, and Civil Aviation, Badri Prasad Pandey is set to deliver a keynote address to the event. One of the crowning jewels of the summit will be the formal inauguration of the Pilot Association of Nepal (PAN), a newly established organization committed to uniting Nepali pilots.

What are the objectives of the inaugural Nepal Pilots’ Summit

While the attendees are set for an evening of wonderful engagement in aviation dialogues, the launch Pilot Association of Nepal (PAN) is bound to be a special occassion in the aviation community in the nation. Given that the nation has seen various accidents such as Yeti Airlines Flight 691, among others, pilots often take a heavy brunt of criticism in the nation.

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The event will present PAN’s vision, mission, and strategic goals to all people who will attend the summit. The summit will also host a panel discussion on aviation safety with key stakeholders. The board members of PAN will also be announced in the event while the event will facilitate networking among pilots, airline leaders, aviation professionals, and government representatives. 

Who are the expected participants at the event

Aviators and flight instructors are set to be a part of the event, and so are the 200 commercial pilots in the nation. Around the world, Nepalese aviators have built a robust reputation for themselves as Nepal, for the pilots here operate in and out of challenging airports such as Kathmandu, Lukla (considered to be the most dangerous in the world), among others.

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CEOs and Accountable Managers from airlines and helicopter operators, officials from the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal, and relevant government agencies will also be a part of the event. Nepal also has an untapped reserve of aviation academies and institutions that offer pilot ground classes, ground handling courses, aircraft maintenance, cabin crew training, etc. Heads of such institutions are sure to find this event a successful one. 

Here’s a brief highlight of the program:

• Arrival and welcome of the Chief Guest

• Formal inauguration ceremony

• Presentation of PAN’s vision and objectives

• Expert panel discussion on aviation safety

• Announcement of PAN board members

• Keynote address by the Chief Guest

Why Nepal needs a pilots association?

An association (or union) of aviation professionals is a norm across the world. In the United States alone, almost half of the workers in airlines based in the nation with the highest number of airports are union members, while more than half are covered by collective bargaining agreements. Barring Delta Air Lines (one of the Big Three US Airlines), all major carriers in the US are highly unionized.

Whilst protecting the rights of workers, associations such as the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA , and Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA), give a lot of benefits to their members, such as:

• Bargains to secure better wages or other benefits, and working conditions, with Aero Cadet reporting about the seminal role played by pilot unions in “development and implementation of safety protocols, leading to a safer environment for aviators and passengers alike.“
• Unions are also engaged in professional development training. As the aviation industry is always evolving, the need of an association becomes a must.

All in all

One might say that for a nation that has had so many safety issues regarding aviation (so much so that EU has barred its airlines from operating to/from Europe), the Nepal Pilots’ Summit should have arrived much earlier. Nonetheless, aviators who have completed their CPL training but have not been able to make it through to one of the many airlines in Nepal, will have plenty to learn from aviation veterans that will be an indelible part of this program.

 

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