Kathmandu, March 22

Domestic airline companies have slashed their airfare after the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation (MoCTCA) directed them not to charge the maximum airfare during this critical situation.

Holding a meeting with airline operators on Saturday, Tourism Minister Yogesh Bhattarai had directed them to reduce their airfare immediately to provide relief to passengers.

Issuing a notice today, Yeti Airlines has released its new airfare to be implemented from March 23 till April 3. “Considering the current situation and as per discussions with the MoCT- CA and Airline Operators’ Association of Nepal and receiving feedback from the general public, Yeti Airlines has revised its airfare,” the notice reads.

Airfare for Bhadrapur has been reduced to Rs 6,200 one way from Rs 9,000.

Likewise, the airfare for Biratnagar, Bhairahawa and Nepalgunj has been reduced to Rs 5,500, Rs 4,900 and Rs 6,300, respectively from Rs 7,450, Rs 6,100 and Rs 9,850 respectively. Meanwhile, airfare for Pokhara has been reduced to Rs 3,700 from Rs 5,000.

Likewise, Buddha Air has reduced the airfare for Biratnagar, Bhairahawa, Nepalgunj and Bhadrapur to Rs 5,500, Rs 4,900, Rs 6,300 and Rs 6,200, respectively from the previous airfare of Rs 7,878, Rs 6,781, Rs 10,620 and Rs 9,800. Likewise, airfare of Dhangadhi, Pokhara and Rajbiraj has been dropped to Rs 7,900, Rs 3,700 and Rs 4,200, respectively from the previous rate of Rs 14,125, Rs 5,272 and Rs 6,540, respectively.

Similarly, Shree Airlines has set Rs 7,400, Rs 6,100, Rs 3,300 and Rs 3,000 airfare for Bhadrapur, Biratnagar, Janakpur and Simara, respectively. Starting from Monday, Shree Airlines will be operating two daily flights to Simara. The airfare for Pokhara, Bhairahawa, Nepalgunj and Dhangadhi has been set at Rs 3,700, Rs 4,900, Rs 6,200 and Rs 7,900, respectively.

Earlier the domestic airline companies had increased their airfare to the maximum rate soon after the government’s announcement to halt long-route land transportation.

Citing the aviation rule of increasing the airfare when demand increases, the airline companies had increased their airfare to the maximum possible level.