Nepal Airlines halts flights to Phaplu; passengers, transport of letters affected

SOLUKHUMBU: Nepal Airlines Corporation (NAC), the flag carrier of the country, has halted flights to Phaplu since September 29 affecting passengers and the transport of letters.

Letters weighing 42 kilograms at Solukhumbu District Post Office have been stuck as a result, said the NAC office chief Sita Duwadi. Staffs crunch is blamed for NAC's failure to operate Kathmandu-Phaplu flights.

The NAC had been operating Kathmandu-Phaplu flights twice a week (Sunday and Tuesday). However, private airlines have been operating flights on the route.

Summit Air conducts regular Kathmandu-Phaplu flights on Sunday and Tuesday and Tara Air on Monday and Wednesday. There has been always a pressure of passengers travelling between the routes, said Mingmar Sherpa, chief of Summit Air, Phaplu.

However, the NAC has been operating flights between Kathmandu, Taplejung, Bhojpur and Khotang via its two aircraft, said the NAC.