Kathmandu, January 19

A meeting of Airline Operators Association of Nepal (AOAN) held today has decided to slightly cut fare for all sectors, after adjusting fuel surcharge.

The reduced fare will be effective from Wednesday for all flights on trunk routes like Kathmandu to Nepalgunj, Biratnagar, Bhirahawa, Dhangadhi, Bhadrapur, among others.

The fares for flights being operated in remote areas will be reduced from Thursday, according to Kamlesh Kumar Verma, executive director of AOAN.

Airline fares are determined based on total fuel surcharge, minimum charge fixed by airlines and airport tax.

The fare revision comes on the heels of Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC) slashing price of aviation turbine fuel (ATF) by Rs 67.90 per litre to Rs 164.88 from today. “As fuel price has been reduced by around 30 per cent, airlines will adjust fuel surcharge accordingly,” said Verma.

As per AOAN, fuel surcharge for Kathmandu-Bharatpur sector has been cut to Rs 2,164 from Rs 3,055.

The surcharge for Pokhara sector has been fixed at Rs 2,798, Biratnagar (Rs 3,815), Janakpur (Rs 2,476), Simara (Rs 1,856), Bhairahawa (Rs 3,400), Dhangadhi (Rs 6,393), Nepalgunj (Rs 4,845), Bhadrapur (Rs 4,537) and Tumlingtar (Rs 3,404).

AOAN had hiked the fuel surcharge on November 10 after NOC had increased the price of ATF to Rs 232.78 per litre citing supply disruption from the land route and the fuel had to be air-lifted.

Subsequently, the fuel surcharge for Pokhara sector had been hiked to Rs 3,950, Biratnagar (Rs 5,385), Janakpur (Rs 3,495), Simara (Rs 2,620), Bhairahawa (Rs 4,800), Dhangadhi (Rs 9,025), Nepalgunj (Rs 6,840), Bhadrapur (Rs 6,405), Tumlingtar (Rs 4,805).