KATHMANDU, Nov 10: Tourism entrepreneurs are raising concerns over rising domestic and international airfare prices, which have resulted from the reduced operating hours of Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) for upgrading work. Business owners say the airfare increases are affecting tourists coming to Nepal.
TIA has suspended commercial flights from 10 pm to 8 am starting Friday as part of infrastructure expansion, which will continue until Match 31, next year. With fewer flights operating, airlines have raised fares, impacting the tourism industry.
Tourism entrepreneurs in Pokhara, during a meeting with Tourism Minister Badri Prasad Pandey, expressed frustration about the timing of the airport closure, which coincides with the peak tourist season. While alternative airports like Pokhara Regional International Airport (PRIA) in Pokhara and Gautam Buddha International Airport (GBIA) in Bhairahawa were suggested, no international airlines are currently flying to Pokhara. Bhairahawa now has flights from four international carriers, but there are no options for international flights to Pokhara.
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Bharatraj Parajuli, a central member of the Hotel Association of Nepal (HAN), said the reduction in flight schedules has caused an increase in fares, which is likely to affect tourism. He criticized the government for not taking action to prevent these increases and said that the airport closure during the season was harming tourism. "When the airport is closed for 10 hours a day during the tourist season, the sector suffers," he said.
Ganesh Bahadur Bhattarai, a leading tourism entrepreneur, echoed these concerns. He said that there is inconvenience in both air and land routes which has disrupted tourism. "Even though Pokhara Regional International Airport has been operational for almost two years, no international flights have been launched yet," he said. The lack of smooth road connections between Pokhara and Kathmandu further complicates the situation.
Likewise, Dharma Raj Panthi, another tourism entrepreneur, suggested that delaying the airport repairs by one month would have avoided the disruption for this tourist season. He called the airport closure during the season an impractical decision.
Meanwhile, Minister Pandey met with entrepreneurs and encouraged airlines to consider shifting flights to Pokhara and Bhairahawa, but he noted that airlines were not interested. "Despite attractive incentives from the government, airlines are not keen to operate from Pokhara," he said. He also said that Nepal Airlines is preparing a test flight to demonstrate that narrow-body aircraft can fly to Pokhara at full capacity.
Similarly, Minister Pandey also said that it was not possible to reverse the airport closure times immediately, as the decision had been made six months ago. "Any change to the current operating schedule could only be implemented after 42 days of issuing a new notification," he said.
