Just before the arrival of the festival and tourist season, the domestic airline sector is facing shortage of Aviation Turbine Fuel as a result of the ongoing protests in the Tarai region of the country. This is a time when passenger movement goes up significantly and generally compels operators to increase the number of flights to different parts of the country. Ramesh Shrestha of The Himalayan Times spoke to Rameshwor Thapa, President of Airlines Operators Association of Nepal on different issues including the fuel crisis, ticket booking for

Dashain and flight operation plans, among others. Excerpts.

The domestic airline sector that was gradually picking up after the earthquake has again faced a problem. How do you evaluate the situation at the moment?

There was a drastic decline in the movement of passengers in domestic and international flights after the April/May earthquakes because of the fall in arrival of tourists and people being scared to come to Kathmandu from different parts of the country. We were just starting to gradually come back to normal and the protests against the constitution started in the Tarai. This has portrayed Nepal’s image among potential international visitors as ‘scary’ due to which the number of tourists visiting Nepal has come down as safety is the prime concern of any tourist. After the promulgation of the new constitution, there were expectations that things would be better and this was even reflected in the stock market and travel advisories. However, the unrest in the Tarai has continued affecting surface transport. It resulted in blockade in supply of essential goods including fuel. The main business season is starting very soon but due to the continued strikes the number of cancellations by tourists has increased. Of the total annual average passenger movement of 700,000 to 800,000 in domestic airlines, more than half of the business is done during this season.

What do you say about the current crisis of Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF)?

There is a big problem of fuel shortage due to the blockade. The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal has also issued a notice asking international airlines to carry enough fuel to return from Nepal or get the aircraft refilled on the way to Nepal. We, domestic airlines, too have been preparing to operate flights in an economic way to save fuel and merge flights where possible. At the same time the country’s biggest festival is just a few weeks away when normally demand for air service goes up heavily. It may be because of the current situation of the country that we have not felt any pressure from passengers like in the previous years. We have taken the current situation as an emergency and an alarming one.

What will the scenario be like if the situation does not improve anytime soon?

Obviously, if there is no supply, the situation will get worse. Actually, we never thought that India would stop supplying essential goods to Nepal going against international law. And, I think the government had not imagined of this type of situation either. The situation resulted due to some political reasons and the unrest in the Tarai. India has also said that it has not able to ease supply due to the ongoing protests in the Tarai. It would have been better if the government had maintained an alternative way to import essential goods including fuel

from China to ease supply when there are such problems or temporary closure of border points during special occasions like elections in India. I think we do not have any policy or strategy so far to deal with such types of situations.

Movement for Dashain is all set to start soon. How is the situation of air ticket booking?

Ticket booking is going on. We are hopeful that the current situation of fuel shortage will not last for a long time. Discussions on how to use the stock that Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC) currently has in an effective way, economising fuel use, and other alternative means are also going on among stakeholders including Airlines Operators Association of Nepal, Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation, and NOC. We believe that high level government officials are also working seriously towards ending this problem.

NOC has also instructed domestic airline operators to refill their aircraft at airports in the Tarai to save fuel in Kathmandu. What do you have to say about it?

Not all airports in the Tarai have the capacity to maintain stock. Only the airports of Bhairahawa, Biratnagar, Nepalgunj, Dhangadhi and Jhapa have fuel facility. But the main thing is that those airports too must first receive fuel. They will also not get fuel until the border is open and refilling from these airports can just be a temporary solution till the time that they have stock. Since the Minister of Commerce and Supplies is all set to leave for India on Monday, let us hope that the supply situation will improve and there will not be any difficulties during Dashain.

Could you please share about the contribution of the movement during Dashain in the annual turnover of domestic airlines?

We do not have any exact data. Normally, as it is also the tourist season, the flow of passengers goes up by 15-20 per cent as compared to the average flow of passengers. In sectors like Lukla and Jomsom, the number of passengers increases by as much as 50 per cent during this season. Due to the increase in demand, airline companies also feel the pressure to increase the number of flights. There is a problem in surface transport due to the strike in the Tarai and demand has gone up for air service but let us see what happens to the fuel supply situation. We have a plan to provide maximum service as per demand during the festival time and even operate night flights to airports where facility for night service is available.

 Could you please tell us for how long domestic operators will be able to provide service if the fuel supply problem continues?

We will be able to provide service for a maximum of 15 days if the supply situation remains the same. We have been discussing with government officials informally regarding the current situation. The fuel shortage would have an adverse impact on the domestic airline companies that have invested over Rs 16 billion.

There are also complaints regarding domestic air service providers charging higher for chartered flights.

Is there any plan for a review?

Chartered flight service basically means negotiations between two parties and their agreement to give and take service at an agreed amount. If a party approaching any airline company to avail chartered service is not satisfied with the price that has been quoted then the concerned party has the option to go to other operators. It is a kind of competition among operators. So, it has not been regulated till date and should not be regulated in the future too. We have not charged higher fares for scheduled flights. On scheduled flights, there are two types of fares — upper limit and lower limit. We have so far not reached the upper limit fixed by the government.