Ramechhap, May 18:

The Nepal Airlines Corporation, citing lack of sufficient passengers, stopped air services to Ramechhap on May 13.

The flight to the district headquarters Manthali had been in operation since 1977.

Head of NAC office at Manthali, Babu Kaji Dahal, said the decision was spurred by decline in the number of passengers over a long time. “Even one flight a week became impractical,” he added.

“The NAC requires at least eight flights a month to meet our expenses but last month we operated only once. That too a solitary passenger in the 19-seater plane,” Dahal said, adding that there had not been a single flight since April 14.

As the NAC has stopped its flights to Manthali, the ealier plan to make a regional level airport in the district headquarters is likely to be put on hold.

On the other hand, people of Ramechhap district are miffed at NAC for halting flights.