At present, only two carriers - Nepal Airlines (NA) and Tara Air - operate scheduled flights from Pokhara to Jomsom of Mustang. While only NA flies to Manang.
Both Manang and Mustang are popular tourist destinations. Tourism entrepreneurs say many visitors interested to travel to these districts are canceling their travel plans due to shortage of aircraft.
“We are facing severe problems as only two companies are operating on Pokhara-Jomson route. Mainly India tourists heading to Muktinath temple of Mustang are affected the most,” Basanta Gauchan, local tourism entrepreneur, said.
Crowd of Indian tourists swells during April-June, putting pressure on local travel agencies.
“Some tourists take difficult land route to reach Muktinath after they fail to get air seats,” said Gauchan.
According to tourism entrepreneurs, only around one-third of tourists visiting Mustang get air seats. The remaining tourists enter the district via land route.
In peak tourist season, over two dozen flights are operated on Pokhara-Jomsom route every day.
Cancellation of flights owing to shortage of aircraft often leaves tourists infuriated. “We spent about three days in Pokhara waiting for our turn to fly to Jomsom. Ultimately, we were forced to take land route,” Ranjan Kumar Srivastav, an Indian tourist, told Republica.
Worsening weather conditions further aggrieve the situation as people don´t know when bad weather cancels flights.
“Flights to Manang and Mustang are possible only in the mornings. Even if the weather is good, we don´t have sufficient aircraft,” Surya Bahadur Khatri, air traffic controller at Jomsom Airport, said.
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