Kathmandu, December 7

As few as 25 domestic flights to different destinations were scheduled today owing to the second phase of the

provincial and parliamentary elections, as per domestic airline companies.

As per Airlines Operators’ Association of Nepal (AOAN) — the umbrella organisation of domestic airline companies — the demand for air tickets for today was negligible, which compelled a majority of the domestic airlines not to schedule regular flights today.

There are 18 private domestic airlines that have regular flights to different local destinations on a regular basis. These airline companies have been scheduling an average of 130 flights on a regular basis during normal times.

“Airline operators did want to schedule regular flights today despite the provincial and parliamentary elections. However, the demand for air travel today was negligible because of which airline companies did not schedule flights for the day,” informed Ghanashyam Ojha, spokesperson for AOAN.

As the government had restricted vehicular movement in the 45 districts where the second phase of provincial and parliamentary elections was held today, the demand for air tickets today was lean, as per AOAN.

Meanwhile, Ojha informed that a few airlines like Sita Air, Goma Air and Buddha Air, among others, scheduled flights to a few destinations to facilitate foreign tourists who had scheduled foreign flights today and on Friday. According to him, these airlines basically operated flights to different tourist destinations like Lukla and Pokhara, among others.

Ojha also informed that airline companies will operate regular flights from Friday as the demand for air tickets is likely to surge dramatically for a few days as people return from their hometowns to their work destinations.

However, international flights from the country’s only international airport — Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) — was not affected today despite the elections.

“Though the elections affected domestic flights today, international flights were uninterrupted,” said Prem Nath Thakur, spokesperson for TIA.

According to him, 28 different international airline companies have been operating up to 106 daily flights to and from Kathmandu on a regular basis.