Passengers to pay more, Domestic airfare rises after Tourism Ministry’s approval
Kathmandu – 16 December 2016
After CAAN gave a nod to the 24 percent hike in the airfare two weeks ago which was also approved by Tourism Ministry, the Airlines Operators Association of Nepal (AOAN) on Thursday held a meeting to agree for about 18 to 36 percent rise in the domestic airfares which will be on affect from Monday. But, the fares are not increased for remote areas.
With this modification, the cost for a seat on a flight from Kathmandu to Dhangadhi which is the longest domestic route, will be Rs12,000 including a fuel surcharge of Rs3,330. Previously, the fare to Dhangadhi used to rate Rs9,990.
From current charge of Rs. 2305, a ticket on the shortest flight, Kathmandu-Simara, will now cost Rs 2,845.
Domestic airfares have two basic components. The government wheels the price of a plane ticket while airlines are permitted to fix the supplement charge if fuel prices alter by at least Rs4 per litre.
Domestic carriers forwarded double-digit growth in passenger carriage in the first half of 2016, dragging out of a four-year plunge as passengers picked to fly instead of drive over bumpy national highways.
The domestic airline passenger traffic hopped 10.82 percent to 741,128 throughout the January-June period according to Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA).
