Nepalgunj, July 5:

Agitating Karnali residents, who are demanding discount on air fares, disrupted flights to and from Nepalgunj airport today as well.

Following the obstruction, flights to hilly districts of the region and Kathmandu remained disrupted. However, flights to Dolpa and Simikot were operated as usual.

“Two flights to Dolpa and one to Simikot were operated today,” the Nepalgunj-based office of the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) said.

The agitators staged a sit-in in front of the airport barring the passengers bound for several destinations from entering the airport. Earlier yesterday, they had padlocked the airport.

The Achham and Bajura chapters of the Civil Society Network and Karnali Rights Coordination Committee made attempt to padlock the airport today as well but police intervention prevented them from doing so.

The agitators have been demanding that the recent hike in air fares be rolled back, discount provided to students and children, lodging facility provided to passengers when flights are cancelled and number of discounted flights to the hilly districts increased.

“The agitation will continue till the demands are met,” coordinator of the struggle committee Narendarnath Yogi said.

In a bid to resolve the problem, the agitators and representatives of airline companies and the CAAN are scheduled to hold talks. But the schedule for the tallks has not been fixed.

On an average, 20 flights operate to and from Nepalgunj airport daily.