Kathmandu-ANN
In the context of Jin Air, Any new airlines willing to fly to Nepal only would be allowed if indulged on the basis of reciprocal flight system according to the new decision made by the Nepal Government. The government is formulating this procedure for new airlines for repatriation flight that has never flown to Nepal before. The country where the operating base of the carrier is situated should also provide permission to allow Nepali carriers to fly into their countries too according to this reciprocal system,
In the case of the proposal made by Jin Air, for repatriation flight from Korea, the government has stated that the flight can get permission only on the basis of a reciprocal way. According to the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation, Jin and other airlines peripheral for reciprocal flights will not be authorized for flight.
According to Kedar Bahadur Adhikari, secretary of the ministry, Jin Air and other airlines from Korea will be granted permission in reciprocal procedures only when Nepal Airlines is allowed to fly for Korea.
“On the proposal of Jin Air, We have added suggestion that Nepal Airlines should also be allowed to fly to Korea,” he said. The procedures can be made on the basis of the reciprocal flight system, he added.
The ministry has stated that Nepal Airlines has not been allowed to fly Korea because it has never permitted commercial flights yet. The government had rooted a flight fare of USD 875 for Nepal Airlines to repatriate Nepalese living in South Korea stranded due to COVID 19. However, South Korea has not allowed Nepal Airlines following the European Union backlist, as South Korean Aviation accompanies the EU aviation regulations. So far, only Jin Air has initiated to bring Nepalese from South Korea and also from Nepal.
According to the ministry, the one-way fare offered by Jin Air is USD 825 per person. As in keeping with the initiation of the Non-Resident Nepali Association (NRNA) in Korea, Korea’s Jin Air had proposed the fare to the Ministry of Tourism through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs last Tuesday. Jin Air was scheduled to fly Nepal on June 30 and July 5 today.
The fare offered by Jin Air is USD 425 cheaper than the Kathmandu-Korea flight fare of Korean Airlines, which has been operating commercial flights in Nepal. Korean Airlines has set fare of USD 1,250 per person for the Kathmandu-Korea route.
The government has set a fare of USD 600 per person for Korean Airlines as part of a rescue flight to repatriate Nepalese stranded in Korea.
If Jin Air had been provided the permission, Nepalese would have been able to fly Kathmandu-Korea route in USD 750.
According to Buddhisagar Lamichhane, joint secretary at the Ministry of Tourism, the government agreed on USD 600 for the rescue flight, despite Korean Air offered USD 1,000.
There are 1,200 Nepalese on the list returning to Nepal from Korea.
The Nepal Embassy in Korea has prepared a list of about 300 workers to be returned in the second phase. In the first phase, 228 Nepalese have already returned on June 20. There are more than 5,000 Nepalese from Korea whose visa is about to expire by the end of July.
Some new aircraft including Titan Air and others have been allowed to fly during the lockdown. Based on this, A Tourism Entrepreneur says that South Korea based Jin Airlines should also get permission to fly to Nepal. Acting Ambassador of Nepal to Korea Ram Singh Thapa said that the government has been informed about the proposal of Jin Air. He said, “As Jin Air is new in the Nepali sky, the decision of the government would be final.”
