Kathmandu, August 17: The Nepal Airlines Corporation (NAC) has secured its income by 144 % within three years. NAC spokesperson Ramesh Paudel in a statement issued on Friday, August 16, stated that the Corporation has been able to increase its income by 144%. According to the Auditor General's report, the total income of the Corporation was Rs. 9 billion 100 million 97 lakh 31 thousand 845 in the year 2077/78 BS and it was Rs. 16 billion 46 million 32 million 60 thousand 333 in the year 2078/79 BS. Similarly, the initial total income of FY 2079/80 BS is Rs. 22 billion 24 billion 19 lakh 78 thousand seen in the statement. In the statement issued to clear the confusion created in the general public by some media outlets about the Corporation, it is mentioned that 3 aircraft are in regular operation on international routes. The statement also mentions that one wide-body aircraft is undergoing sea-check maintenance in Italy and arrive within a week. Accordingly, one Twin Otter aircraft is providing regular service in its domestic routes and another grounded Twin Otter aircraft will be brought into operation after engine maintenance very soon, said the Corporation spokesperson. The Corporation, under the present management, has paid loan instalements and interests worth five billion 797 million and 642 thousand rupees to the Karmachari Sanchaya Kos (Employees Provident Fund) and Nagarik Lagani Kos (Citizens’ Investment Fund) by the end of the previous fiscal year, i.e. Asar end, 2081 BS, it is stated in the statement. The Corporation had taken loans from the two financial institutions to procure two wide-body and two narrow-body aircraft. The national flag carrier, considering the country's geopolitical location and landlocked status, needs more fleets to operate on domestic as well as international routes. Presently, due to a lack of fleets, foreign aircraft operators have strongly dominated on the international routes, also, NAC is unable to increase fleets on the domestic routes as per the demand. NAC has also planned to procure three stol aircraft to provide services in remote areas and also two medium-sized aircraft to operate in the trunk routes at home. Due to the frequent changes in the government and also due to the absence of a vision among the political leaders, the NAC plan to procure more aircraft has not materialized. NAC also needs more aircraft to compete with other international airline operators in its international routes. Meanwhile, the Corporation is preparing to start a direct flight to Australia, a destination for Nepali students, by September this year.    People’s News Monitoring Service.