Speaking at a press conference in the capital, Ratish Chandra Lal Suman, director general of CAAN, said that an official notice has been issued to all international airlines flying to Nepal to stop using wide-body aircraft for the time being, as a measure to control recurring damage to the runway at TIA.
“We have requested cooperation from the airlines to help us minimize damage to the runway if they can, but we cannot say to them categorically not to operate wide-body aircraft here as most of them have taken bookings in advance. Airlines can cooperate by using narrow-body aircraft or by minimizing the total weight,” he said. [break]
CAAN´s move is expected to affect operations by Air Asia, Korean Air, Qatar Airways, Thai Airways and Dragon Air. Air Asia will have to stop flying to Nepal as it does not have smaller aircraft.
Bharat Kumar Shrestha, chairman of the Airlines Operating Committee (AOC), said that the government should give the airlines some time to switch to an alternative. “As the peak tourist season is approaching and bookings and reservations have already been made, it is impossible for airlines using wide-body to make adjustments immediately,” he said.
The TIA airstrip, which was constructed in 1967 for smaller aircraft like the DC-10 with a total weight of up to 196 tons, has currently been receiving heavy aircraft of up to 299 tons.
CAAN said that it has taken the initiative to halt wide-body aircraft operations as the preliminary assumption is that runway distress is caused by aircraft loads, besides other factors such as age of the tarmac and weather phenomena.
MoCTCA eying Bhairahawa upgrade
The Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation (MoCTCA) said that there is an urgent need for a second international airport to solve the current problem with the runway at TIA. Sushil Ghimire, secretary at the ministry, said the TIA runway cannot be renovated unless Gautam Buddha Airport (GBA) at Bhairahawa is upgraded as an alternative to TIA.
“The government has already completed all preparations for upgrading GBA and is awaiting a go ahead from the Asian Development Bank (ADB),” said Ghimire.
Upgrading GBA is a US$ 90.6 million project, of which US$ 42.96 million will be received as loan and US$ 12.75 million as grant from the ADB under the South Asia Tourism Infrastructure Development Project. Besides, the OPEC Fund for International Development is providing a US$ 15 million loan, and the government also will provide US$ 29.17 million for the construction.
Punya Shakya, project director of TIA Improvement Project, said that due to lack of an alternative airport, TIA has been carrying out emergency repairs when potholes develop, using Hi-Seal emulsion. This will continue till the end of the monsoon.
“After the monsoon, we will be adopting short-term measures and carrying out treatment with hot mix asphalt concrete when the airport closes at midnight,” said Shakya.
Dinesh Prasad Shrestha, general manager of TIA, said airport renovation work will be carried out to provide a permanent solution once Ayesa Ingenieria, a Spanish company which has started testing the tarmac since July, submits a complete report in September.
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