"There was nobody at the counter for a long time after we arrived. This left tourists disappointed. Incidents like this might deteriorate our tourism image ahead of Nepal Tourism Year 2011,” said Pabitra Chuke, one of the passengers of the flight. She further added even the guards were not present. [break]
China Southern, which was scheduled to arrive at 10 pm, had landed on TIA at 9:15 pm without informing the authorities concerned.
"If the airlines arrived early, it is possible that there was nobody at the counter," said Pradip Raj Kandel, senior immigration officer at TIA. He also informed that he was unaware of the situation.
He further added that if the arriving airlines do not inform the airport authorities about the delay or early arrival of the flight, the staffs leave the office to have their meal for which they are compelled to go outside the Golden Gate.
TIA currently has two eateries one of which is managed by Hotel Radisson making it unaffordable for the staffers. The other one is not operated during odd hours.
"The staffs must have left for their meal hoping that the flight would arrive at the scheduled time. It takes at least about half an hour for them to reach the counter from the Ring Road," Kandel added, explaining that the airlines should also be responsible.
TIA officials explained that the guards might have been resting as they did not expect the flight to arrive at that particular time.
"This is a matter of concern to the management and we´ll see what can be done to prevent the similar situation from occurring from next time," said Dinesh Prasad Shrestha, the general manager of TIA, Civil Aviation Office.
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