Passengers hit by airfare hike as TIA shuts down for 10 hrs.

With a reduction in operation hours of the Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) for its upgrading, international airlines have been compelled to slash the number of their flights to and from Kathmandu. According to sources at the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN), the airlines have decreased their flights by about 30-35 per cent. This has led to a shortage of air tickets and a subsequent alarming hike in airfare.

Kathmandu’s busy international airport now remains closed from 10 pm to 8 am, for ten hours daily. The airport improvement project is scheduled to be completed by the end of March next year. The airport used to remain shut only for four hours from 2 am to 6 am before the start of the expansion work. TIA normally handled about 300 domestic flights and nearly 100 international flights on daily basis.  

The airport has the capacity to host about 5 million passengers annually. However, the congested airport handles around 8 million passengers every year.

According to ticketing agents, the airfare for the Kathmandu-Delhi sector has increased to Rs. 60,000 from just Rs. 12,000 – Rs. 15,000. Similarly, passengers are compelled to pay up to Rs. 80,000 for flying to Dubai from Kathmandu. Until recently, the airfare on this route was only about Rs. 30,000 – Rs. 35,000. Similarly, an air ticket for the Kathmandu-Riyadh sector has increased to Rs. 80,000 from just Rs. 40,000 – Rs. 45,000. And a passenger flying to Kuwait from Kathmandu has to pay up to Rs. 100,000. The airfare on this route was about Rs. 45,000 in the recent past. The Kathmandu-Doha sector airfare has also risen to Rs. 80,000 from Rs. 35,000-Rs. 40,000. Likewise, each of passengers travelling to Kuala Lumpur from Katmandu needs to pay Rs. 65,000. In the past, the airfare on that route was only about Rs. 35,000.  

The higher airfare will certainly have adverse impact on Nepal’s tourism sector. The sudden extra increase in airfares is expected to shy away many foreign tourists. In addition, this will also affect Nepali migrant workers and students going abroad.