KATHMANDU, Nov 30: Global Youth Campaigner for Climate Justice Prajwal Bikram Rana was going to Dubai as a participant in the climate change conference 'COP-28' starting from today. For which Rana had booked a ticket on Nepal Airlines flight number 'RA 229' which was scheduled to take off from the Tribhuvan International Airport  (TIA) at 11:30 PM. He reached the TIA around 8:30 PM so that he would have enough time for immigration and other procedures.

On reaching the TIA, Rana was not allowed to enter, saying it was flight time. He asked, “How can a flight scheduled for 11:30 PM fly right now? But when the airport staff told him that the plane was scheduled to take off at 9:30 PM, Rana was shocked.

For the convenience of the Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal-led delegation, Nepal Airlines Corporation revised the flight time two hours before the scheduled time. Rana found this out only after reaching the TIA.

"Nepal Airlines Corporation did not inform us that the flight time had been changed,” he said live on social media.

Rana said that only then he knew that 31 passengers were left behind in Nepal like him. These passengers were stranded at the TIA and the  airplane had flown away. The other passengers, too, were not informed about the change in the take-off time of the airplane,” said Rana.

After that, the passengers left at the TIA have been kept at Kaberi Inn Hotel in Gyaneshwar. The airline has handed a letter to the passengers mentioning that the NAC flight to Dubai was preponed due to VIP flight. It has also been said in the letter that another arrangement will be made to fly them to Dubai today.

Most of the 31 passengers who missed the flight are young people going to Dubai for foreign employment.

 
• TIA
 
• COP-28
 
• Dubai