The notice issued by Sagarmatha National Park restricting helicopters from flying over the national park for commercial purposes has sparked controversy after Civil Aviation Authority (CAAN) raised objection to the notice.
Our serious attention has been drawn to the notice issued by the national park authority to impose total restriction on commercial helicopters from flying in the Khumbu region, the gate way to the Mt. Everest in the name of checking sound pollution and protection of environment and wildlife in the region, CAAN stated issuing a statement in response to the notice.
Mountain flights in the Sagarmatha region has been popular among tourists for sight-seeing purposes.
“The park authority has no right to restrict flying of helicopters over the national park region as the rights to take off and land aircrafts solely lies with the CAAN,” the statement pointed out. The CAAN has also directed all the helicopter companies and concerned bodies to continue with their works of operating commercial flights of choppers as usual in the national park area. Sagarmatha National Park is also a popular trekking destination, where nearly 30,000 foreign tourists visited last year.
Meanwhile, issuing a statement Airlines Operators Association of Nepal (AOAN) has made it clear that helicopter companies are operating their flights as per the rules and regulations made by the CAAN, the national park has no rights to restrict flight over the protected areas like Sagarmatha National Park.
We have asked all the helicopter companies to continue their flight operation in the national park area as usual,” said AOAN president Manoj Karki. We will go for legal remedy if any individual or organization tries to disrupt our flights being operated as per existing rule and regulation. He also requested all concerned bodies to ensure safety of the flights.
“National Parks cannot halt flights that are being operated in the Everest region as the helicopter companies have been operating their flights abiding by the Civil Aviation Authority,” remarked Deepak Joshi, CEO, Nepal TOurism Board. The helicopters have been booked by the tourists even a year or more in advance, and the cancellation of flights will damage our credibility,” he pointed out.
“There should be extensive discussion among all the stakeholders before making any change in the existing rules relating to flying over the protected areas,” Joshi clarified.
When tried to contact for comment, the Sagarmatha National Park’s spokesperson didn’t respond to the mobile phone.
