Nepal Airlines (RA, Kathmandu) has repaid NPR330 million Nepalese rupees (USD2.5 million) on a loan taken from Nepal's Employees Provident Fund (EPF) to purchase an Airbus narrowbody, the national carrier announced in a statement.

The instalment was made on January 13 and comprised capital and interest on the principal amount. As reported earlier, the loan of around NPR37 billion (USD277.8 million) was for the purchase of two A330-200s and two A320-200s, however with the added interest, the total debt accumulated to NRP45 billion (USD337.9 million).

Nepal Airlines made earlier instalments of NPR1.35 billion (USD11.4 million) on July 14, 2022 and NPR730 million (USD5.5 million) on October 18, 2022.

The airline stated that regular instalments were being made and that employees had been informed of the amounts repaid, whereas for two years, loan obligations to the EPF and Citizen Investment Trust (CIT) had not been paid for various reasons but mostly due to financial strain experienced during the Covid-19 pandemic.