Nepal Airlines Corporation (NAC) witnessed decrease in the number of air passengers traveling from Rukum to Nepalgunj.
Increase in air freight charge and daily facilities of roadway transportation has resulted decrease in air passengers.
At the present, NAC operate one flight weekly from Salley airport to Nepalgunj and one flight in a week from Salley airport to Kathmandu.
Amardeep Rai, chief of NAC Station at Salley stated that NAC operate Kathmandu-Rukum-Nepalgunj on Sunday and Nepalgunj-Rukum-Kathmandu on Monday. He also informed that though the number of passengers are more from Nepalgunj however, the number of passengers is too low from Kathmandu.
Basically, the passengers are those who travel in emergency works, leaders, government employees and patients.
Rai said that there will be only 6 passengers on board in the flight from Rukum to Nepalgunj though the aircraft has capacity of 18 passengers whereas the seat is full in the flight from Nepalgunj to Kathmandu.
The passenger generally prefer roadway transportation as it run daily while the flight is conducted once in a week.
Rai claimed that the air passengers were not decreased due to air freight. However, local people claimed that due to increase in air freight, air passengers are decreasing.
According to the corporation, the air freight was NRs 2240 for Nepalgunj flight in last year whereas NAC charge NRs 3640 in present year. Likewise, the corporation charge NRs 8050 for Kathmandu flight. The increase in air freight does not affect leaders, government employees much but it is too expensive for general public and patients.
