Private airlines companies have started competing in domestic air route expansion with the competition to add new aircraft.
Buddha Air has already announced to conduct Pokhara-Nepalgunj scheduled flight two months ago. Similarly, Makalu Air has applied for the permission to conduct Pokhara-Nepalgunj flight to Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation. Shree Airlines which started its flight operation with three Bombardiers CRJ series aircrafy has also announced to operate Biratnagar-Dhangadi flights.
Even though the flights would be operating in remote areas from Nepalgunj, Biratnagar and Pokhara, the start of a flight in easy reach from urban area to urban area has begun only a few months ago.
The flights of airlines companies show the increase in the number of internal air passengers throughout the country.
Buddha Air, which started the Bhairahawa- Pokhara flight from Bhadra, has increased flight frequency from last week. Likewise, the airline has already started Bharatpur-Pokhara flights.
According to Rupesh Joshi, Marketing Manager, Buddha Air has been expanding routes along with the aircraft and will study other routes in the coming days. “Buddha Air is preparing to conduct flight Kathmandu- Surkhet,” he added.
According to Birendra Shrestha, spokesperson of CAAN said that though the airlines had not been conducting flights from outside valley hub but it seems competitive these dats. Such activities of airlines will also help in the development of Nepal Tourism sector, he added.
In the third amendment of the terms and conditions of the Civil Aviation Authority, 2056, the interim airports across the country have been classified as separate categories in the A, B, C, and D groups. In A category, Jomsom, Simikot, Jumla, Bajura, Manang, Sanbochey, Dhorpatan, Dolma, Langtang,Lukla, Phaplu, Bajhang and Ropla are listed whereas in B category, Rumjatar, Lamidanda, Taplejung, Darchula, Rukum, Chaujahari, Baitad, Tumlingtar, Bhojpur, Sanfheybagar are listed. Palungtar,Ramechhap, Baglung, Surkhet,Jiri, Dangand Tikapur domestic airports are listed in C category. Similarly, there are Biratnagar, Bhairahawa, Janakpur, Jhapa, Rajbiraj, Mahindranagar, Nepalgunj, Dhangadhi and Pokhara in the D category.
