Kathmandu: Nepal allows foreign airlines to add flights

"The decision will be applicable from September 8 to the end of December," said an official at the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation. He said the government will also facilitate charted flights as well.

Some airlines have been showing interest to run additional flights, but a few of them were unable to do so as the government did not permit them.

Air Arabia has become the first airline to respond to the government's decision. "We will increase two flights from September, and add another from October," said Pabitra Karki, managing director of Daphe Travels, general sales agent of the airline in Nepal. Presently, it operates four flights every week on the Kathmandu-Sharjah route.

Qatar Airways and Thai Airways have also welcomed the decision. They have been planning to add flight, but the existing air services agreements (ASAs) of Nepal with Qatar and Thailand were a hurdle.

"We will forward the government's new policy to our head office for the purpose. But we want to add flights for the long-term, not short-term," said an official of the Thai Airways.

China Southern and Korean Air have also plans to increase flights, but they have so far not announced the exact increment.

Major airlines flying to Nepal are packed, hampering planned trips of a number of tourists. Tourism entrepreneurs have been fretting about the shortage, stating that this will severely affect the industry in the peak-season.

Problems for the national flag carrier, Nepal Airlines Corporation (NAC), which is operating a single aircraft for international flights, look to be increasing in the coming months. The aircraft is in operation, using an engine of another aircraft that is currently going through a C-check in Brunei. After the other aircraft returns from the C-check in early September, the aircraft that is being oparated now, whose engine is damaged, will be grounded again.

Tourism entrepreneurs and other stake holders have long been demanding with the government to deal with the air-accessibility problem by improving the national airline. They said addition of some new airlines, which is in the pipeline, will help to allay the problem, but will not be enough to completely sort it out.

Orient Thai, a Thailand based airline, is preparing to commence flights between Kathmandu and Bangkok from this month. Likewise, Etihad Airlines, the national airline of the United Arab Emirates and Silk Air, a subsidiary of Singapore Airlines have announced to flights to Kathmandu from October.

- The Kathmandu Post/Asia News Network