SANGAM PRASAIN
KATHMANDU, MAR 31 -
In a bid to curb air traffic congestion and takeoff and landing delays, Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA), the country’s only international airport, is preparing to start round-the-clock operation from October.
Projected rise in the number of passengers in 2011, increased international airlines flight frequency and continuous traffic growth for the last couple of years are some major reasons prompting TIA to start 24-hour service, said a TIA official.
According to TIA’s passengers’ and aircraft movement data, the year 2010 saw a total of 3.99 million passengers movement, against 3.40 million in 2009. In 2010, TIA handled 586,244 additional passengers, up by 17. 21percent, compared to 2009. In terms of aircraft movement, the airport processed 99,291 aircrafts in 2010, against 91,892 in 2009, up by 8.05 percent.
TIA handles 27 international airlines and 13 domestic carriers. Currently, the airport operates 18 hours per day although it is open for 24 hours. With the Nepal Tourism Year-2011 targeting 700,000 air passengers, 200,000 more to what the country had received in 2009, TIA’s operation hours had been a serious issue.
Also, international airlines planning for additional flights will also add pressure on TIA. Recently, China Southern and Dragon Air doubled their flight frequency to Kathmandu, while Spice Jet doubled its flight to 14 from seven per week and Oman Air increased its seven flights per week to nine. The Indian domestic carrier IndiGo is also expected to join Nepal soon.
As per the NTY target, the airport has to process 400,000 additional passengers (arrival and departure). “As per the target, we have planned to operate flights from 5pm to 12am, which is an unoccupied time interval,” said Ratish Chandra Lal Suman, general manager of TIA. Recently, Qatar Airways, Dragon Air, China Southern and Air Arabia are operating evening services. Although the plan for round-the-clock operation is only meant for international carriers, TIA said to ease domestic air traffic congestion it plans to dedicate morning time for domestic carriers.
“We are renovating the existing domestic parking apron to increase facilities and enhance passenger processing capacity. The renovation work will be completed within 45 days,” added Suman.
TIA, which was designed to handle 1,350 passengers per hour, has been processing passengers almost double of the figure. Recently, TIA processed 3,500 passengers in an hour. However, the existing manpower has been a concern for TIA to start full-fledged operation.
“We are assessing the cost benefit analysis, ie, we need extra manpower and have to provide additional incentives to those working in the evening. On the other hand, we have to reduce the parking cost during lean hours to encourage them, which will definitely reduce TIA’s profit,” said Suman.
Officials at the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN), the regulatory body of the aviation sector, said the renovation and construction work has been funded through CAAN’s internal budget, considering the pressure on TIA during the NTY.
