KATHMANDU, June 30

Nepal Airlines Corporation (NAC) has decided to restart serving alcoholic beverages on three of its international flights. Following the management’s decision regarding the same, the national flag carrier is preparing to procure liquor.

Last week, a meeting of NAC management had taken the decision with a target to attract travellers whose numbers have dwindled significantly after the earthquake. The service will be available in three sectors — Bangkok, Hong Kong and Delhi, while the other two remaining sectors — Doha and Kuala Lumpur — will not have this service.

“We had approached National Trading to procure duty free liquor as in the past, but it seemed they have stopped selling alcohol,” said Ram Hari Sharma, spokesperson for NAC. He added that they were exploring other avenues to purchase alcohol.

Earlier, NAC had mulled over serving liquor to passengers starting from July 1. However, the plan had been pushed back owing to the delay in procurement of alcohol. NAC officials said that with the management already deciding to offer drinks in flights, they would start the service as soon as they get delivery after completing the procurement process.

Last year in March, NAC had stopped serving alcohol on board to make the air service responsive toward passengers and help them stay healthy. It had also faced problems like passengers going overboard with ‘free’ offer and consuming too much alcohol during flight.

Even as the added service would increase the operational cost for the flag carrier, there will be no change in the air fare, according to Sharma.