KATHMANDU, DECEMBER 15

Hundreds of passengers flying to Malaysia and Dubai through Nepal Airlines Corporation were left stranded for hours at Tribhuvan International Airport yesterday evening due to a dispute between the Cabin Crew Association of NAC and the management.

According to NAC, the dispute broke out over the non-renewal of working contract of two association members and some other issues.

Because of the delay, Bishonath Lamichhane, a resident of Sindhupalchowk who was travelling to Australia for academic purpos-es, had to wait at the airport till 2:00am before finally boarding the plane to Malaysia.

However, the delay caused him to miss his transit flight from Malaysia to Sydney.

'The flight was scheduled to leave for Kuala Lumpur at 9:50pm on Wednesday but took off at 2:00am this morning. Bisho was deprived of any proper rest and could do nothing but wait for his flight alongside other passengers,' informed Bimal Man Rajbhandari, who hails from the same locality as Lamichhane and had assisted him in making travel arrangements.

NAC's flights to Riyadh in Saudi Arabia and Bangalore and New Delhi in India were delayed again today.

According to NAC Spokesperson Archana Khadka, the two warring sides have come to an understanding and delayed flights had been scheduled to take off by today evening.

'An understanding has been reached with the association and it was decided to resume flights without any issues. The delayed flight to India was rescheduled for 6:00pm, while rescheduling of the delayed flight to Riyadh is also being discussed. We believe that such a problem will not arise henceforth,' she shared.

Issuing a statement today, the Cabin Crew Association of Nepal Airlines said the NAC had not renewed the contract of two employees who have been working at the corporation for 15 years, while special facilities have been provided to others. The association has also expressed reservations against employees having to work longer hours, among other issues faced, despite repeated appeals from the association to the management to resolve them.

Meanwhile, Rajbhandari said it was shameful for a national flag carrier to cause problems for passengers because of an internal issue, adding that such incidents will affect the corporation's credibility.

A version of this article appears in the print on December 16, 2022, of The Himalayan Times.