KATHMANDU: Nepal Airlines’ narrow-body plane 9N AKX, which has been grounded for two months due to an engine problem, is being sent to Israel this Sunday for repairs.

According to the Nepal Air Service Corporation (NAC), the aircraft, which has been grounded since September 17 due to a problem with the engine, will go to Israel today with a lease for engine repair and will arrive in Nepal on September 22. The corporation has already signed an agreement with Israel Aerospace Industries.

The corporation’s planes often break down, but due to lack of immediate repair, millions of rupees have been lost. In the last 20 months, two narrow-body planes of the corporation have been grounded for 222 days.

NAC sources revealed that one and a half billion rupees have been spent on the repair of these planes and two and a half billion rupees have been lost due to flight issue.