Any domestic airline operating in the country or any new airline wanting to operate domestic flights from now have been instructed to make base outside the Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) mandatorily. The rule is applicable to every airlines either they have been operating aircraft from Kathmandu and preparing to add fleet or new airline trying to initiate the service.
As per CAAN, in case any airline want to make permission to operate new flights or add new fleet, they will have to operate choosing domestic airport other than Kathmandu as their base. The airlines can make their base at Biratnagar, Bhairahawa, Pokhara, Nepalgunj, Dhangadhi or Surkhet airports outside Kathmandu.
The airlines can make flights to TIA but the aircrafts have to be parked on other airports during off time.
Currently, around 350-400 flights are operated daily from the TIA among which most of the flights are being conducted by domestic airliners and during peak hour most of the flights have to hold on air due to heavy traffic congestion.
Lately, provision for night flight is being offered to minimize the traffic during peak time and day time and the new policy to have base on the airport other than TIA has been expected to help counter the air traffic problems.
Government has also stopped to provide permission to airline that wants to operate making TIA its base and CAAN has also managed to cope the situation accordingly. CAAN has also stated only to provide flight permission to new aircraft as well as new airline if they make their base of operations at airports other than TIA.
Currently, air traffic at the country’s sole international airport is so problematic that an aircraft have to hold on air for around an hour before landing at the airport.
The airline can fly making TIA as the base only if flights of other current airlines get decreased or any airline which is currently performing scheduled flights from the airport shifts its base to new airport or the airline get liquidated or dissolved.
