Govt told to stop Air Arabia's Malaysia flights

KATHMANDU Dec 12: The International Relations and Human Rights Committee of the parliament has directed the government not to allow Air Arabia to operate flights on Kathmandu-Kuala Lumpur route.



At the meeting held here Sunday, lawmakers asked the government to immediately cancel the permission. [break]



The meeting chaired by Padmalal Bishwokarma instructed the government not to implement the decision, stating that it was taken without seeking consent of national flag carrier Nepal Airlines Corporation.



Minister for Tourism and Civil Aviation Sharat Singh Bhandari defended the decision and said the permission was given as per the Air Service Agreement signed with the United Arab of Emirates. “It was a compulsion for us, as Nepal is also enjoying fifth freedom right in UAE,” Bhandari said. He also said the cancellation of permission to the UAE-based carrier might affect diplomatic ties between the two countries.



“We permitted Air Arabia to fly to Kuala Lumpur after studying passenger flow on the route. NAC can still make good business as we have permitted the airline to fly to Malaysia six times a week that too in lean hours,” Bhandari argued.



UCPN (Maoist) lawmaker CP Gajurel said it important to uphold national interest before entering into any agreement. “It´s not fair to permit a foreign carrier to fly on the route where our national carrier is making a good profit,” he added.



Nepali Congress lawmaker Narahari Acharya said it was surprising that the government and NAC have different views on the issue. “The government should have studied the impacts of the decision on national flag carrier and bilateral relation beforehand,” he added.



KB Limbu, managing director of NAC, argued that it was not necessary for the government to follow the agreement ´line by line´. “Agreements should be signed in such a way that both the parties are in a win-win situation,” he added.



The lawmakers also directed the government to include Malaysia and other profitable routes in the reservation list where no international carrier can enjoy fifth freedom right. Nepal has included India and Thailand in the list.



Fifth freedom right allows airline to carry passenger from one´s own country to a second country and from that country to a third country.



The UAE signed Air Service Agreement (ASA) with Nepal in October 1999 and the bilateral agreement was revised as per the open sky policy in 2007.



Air Arabia was scheduled to begin in Kuala Lumpur flights from December 16.

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