Kathmandu, January 19:

Nepal and Sri Lanka are reviewing their Air Sevices Agreement (ASA). Nepali authorities and a Sri Lankan team will hold talks on Thurday, said an official at the Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation (MoTCA).

Nepal Airlines has long stopped its flights to Colombo due to various reasons. “Our side is busy preparing for the talks, and the full operationalisation of the ASA may top the agenda,” the ministry sources said adding that the two South Asian countries’ officials are meeting on January 22 in Kathmandu. MoTCA secretary Ramchandra Man Singh confirmed that the talks between the two countries have been scheduled for January 22.

Nepal and Sri Lanka had earlier also renewed the ASA to allow direct air services between the two countries. The agreement signed in Colombo allowed designated airlines to operate four weekly flights between Kathmandu and Colombo and points beyond. However, Nepal Airlines (NAC), then Royal Nepal Airlines (RNAC), stopped its flights to Colombo since almost eight years.

The previous agreement allowed only a limited number of passengers and the number of flights by each airline was restricted to two per week.

Nepal has signed ASAs with 35 countries. However, it has been renewing the ASAs and also increasing flight frequencies for mutual benefit.

On December 29 in 2008, Nepal and Bahrain renewed their Air Services

Agreement (ASA) and signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to increase flight frequency and develop skilled manpower resources. According to the renewed agreement, both countries can now operate 28 flights per week.

Earlier, the agreement between the two countries was that they could operate only 14 flights per week. Meanwhile, Nepal is also likely to review Air Services Agreement (ASA) with India to scrap the existing restrictions on seat allocations. It is hoped that the proposed change in the ASA will allow Nepali airlines to operate unlimited number of flights to various Indian cities.

As per the existing ASA between the two South Asian neighbours, each is restricted to only 6,000 seats per week. The limit on the number of seats has impeded Nepali Airlines’ efforts to operate flights to Indian cities. After the 1990s open air policy, Nepali private airlines have also started spreading their wings. Private airliners are requesting the government to allow them to fly to various Indian cities with unrestricted number of seats.