KATHMANDU, JUNE 21

A late night meeting between the domestic airline operators and the aviation sector regulator held today ended inconclusively, but the earlier announced flight disruption from tomorrow has been withdrawn.

"Domestic flights will take off from 11:00am tomorrow, while dialogue with the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal will resume at noon," Spokesperson for Airline Operators Association of Nepal Yog Raj Kandel Sharma told The Himalayan Times.

The domestic airline operators had earlier today put forth a five-point demand and threatened to ground all aircraft from tomorrow in protest against the recently announced 'one-sided' decisions of CAAN. The CAAN, on the other hand, had claimed it would not be intimidated by such blackmail tactics.

The AOAN had expressed strong reservations against CAAN's decision to allow night-stop parking for only 17 domestic aircraft, including helicopters, at Tribhuvan International Airport from today, while mandating that aircraft parked at their designated base stations conduct their first flight for the day from there. The decision will affect 35 aircraft, including 14 helicopters.

The association had stated that the authority neglected the long-term impacts of such a decision, which it claimed was taken unilaterally and could lead to loss of huge investment made by the private sector.

Airline operators had demanded that the authority revoke the hike in airport service fees, including landing, parking, and navigation. They also asked the authority to make arrangements for physical infrastructure including hangars for maintenance and helipads for helicopter operators at TIA. They had also asked the regulator to repeal operating base provisions.

Meanwhile, CAAN had defended its decision earlier today stating that air/ ground holding, delays, over-crowded parking space, and terminal congestion had become recurrent problems at TIA, as all the domestic airline operators were focused on operating their services from the capital.

The authority also said that the base stations for aircraft had been designated as per the study report of the committee comprising member of AOAN that was formed on April 23.

"TIA can actually accommodate only 17 aircraft," CAAN Director General Pradeep Kumar Adhikari had said while addressing the media this afternoon, adding the parking space had been stretched beyond its limit with 52 aircraft. "Moreover, the new rules for night-stop parking are also aimed at decentralising the services being provided by the airline and helicopter operators across the country."

He had further said that while the authority was willing to facilitate operators by improving services and infrastructure needed at other airports, it would not cave in to arm-twisting.

"Threatening to close or shut business because of change in policies will not work," Adhikari had warned.

As per the decision made by CAAN, Buddha Airlines will be allowed to park five out of its total fleet of 14 aircraft at TIA. The number allotted to Shree Airlines and Yeti Airlines is two each and one for Saurya Airlines.

A version of this article appears in the print on June 22, 2022, of The Himalayan Times.