Flying in domestic carriers gets cheaper from today

Kathmandu, December 6

The airfare to different domestic destinations will come down from Wednesday as domestic airlines have lowered fuel surcharge following a drop in oil price.

Airline Operators Association of Nepal (AOAN) — the umbrella body representing domestic airlines — has reduced fuel surcharge in the range of Rs 90 to Rs 300, depending on the destination, effective from Wednesday. The revision in fuel surcharge has been approved by the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN).

Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC), on Monday, had reduced the price of Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF) for domestic airlines by eight rupees per litre to Rs 86 a litre effective from today. AOAN revises the fuel surcharge when the price of ATF fluctuates by at least four rupees per litre.

“The fuel surcharge has been reduced effective from Wednesday. This will bring down domestic airfares to different destinations providing slight relief to air travellers,” said AOAN Spokesperson Ghanashyam Acharya.

The Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation (MoCTCA) had fixed basic airfare to different domestic destinations in 2009. Airlines fix the airfare by adjusting fuel surcharge and airport service tax in the basic airfare fixed by the government.

With the new adjustment in fuel surcharge, the fare of mountain flights from Kathmandu will come down by at least Rs 300. Similarly, airfare from Kathmandu to Simara — the shortest destination from Kathmandu — will go down by at least Rs 90.

Airlines have reduced fuel surcharge for flights on Kathmandu-Bharatpur sector by Rs 105 to Rs 1,125. Similarly, fuel surcharge for flights on Kathmandu-Pokhara and Kathmandu-Biratnagar sectors has been reduced by Rs 135 and Rs 185, respectively. While fuel surcharge for flights on Kathmandu-Janakpur route has been brought down by Rs 120, fuel surcharge for Kathmandu-Bhairahawa sector has been slashed by Rs 165 to Rs 1,770.

Likewise, fuel surcharge for Kathmandu-Nepalgunj and Kathmandu-Tumlingtar sectors has been reduced by Rs 235 and Rs 165, respectively. For the Kathmandu-Bhadrapur sector the surcharge has been brought down by Rs 220.