Kathmandu, July 1 -- Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli on Monday came down heavily on 'non-performing' Nepal Airlines Corporation saying that repeated management failures were just not acceptable.

Addressing the 61st anniversary of the national flag carrier, he said that the corporation had become 'critically ill'. "Why is state-owned Nepal Airlines in the red while private players are making profits?" he asked.

The prime minister said mockingly that the only achievement it can show on its 61st anniversary is the accumulation of loans worth Rs36 billion. "How to make Nepal Airlines a success is a big question," he said. "The corporation is in a coma, and its turnaround will not be easy."

Oli gave a few examples of how the airline had been s...