SANGAM PRASAIN
KATHMANDU, DEC 19 -
Thanks to increased air connectivity, Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA), the country’s only international airport, is witnessing an impressive growth both in tourist arrivals and aircraft movement.
TIA’s statistics show international passenger movement (arrival and departure) grew by 21 percent in the first nine months (January-September) of 2010. According to TIA’s Flight Permission Section, the airport saw movement of 1.71 million passengers during this period, up from 1.41 million during the corresponding period last year.
With more airlines starting their service to Kathmandu, international flight movements too have surged by 23 percent. In the first nine months this year, TIA saw 13,978 international flights compared to 11,329 during the corresponding period last year.
Bimlesh Lal Karna, chief of TIA’s Air Traffic Control said that the airport is handling more international flights these days, more than its average capacity. “The airport is handling as many as 50-60 international flights on some days,”
said Karna. The average capacity of the airport is 35-40 international flights. Now, 27 international airlines are operating their service in Nepal.
However, despite the increased flight frequency and passenger movement, the country’s national flag carrier—Nepal Airlines Corporation (NAC)—saw only a nine percent growth in these nine months. A total of 177,036 passengers traveled to and from the TIA on NAC flights.
The increased flight movement has only benefited the international airlines. In terms of passenger volume, Qatar Airways topped the chart with 215,117 passengers (a 21 percent increase) followed by Jet Airways and the NAC. Jet Airways’ passenger volume increased by 54 percent to 185,484 between January and September compared to 120,140 during the same period last year. Air Arabia and Etihad Airways were amongst the airlines that registered robust growth in terms of passenger movement in 2010. Air Arabia registered a 19 percent growth while Etihad Airways recorded a 40 percent growth in passenger movement.
However, three major international airlines—Gulf Air, Thai Airways and Indian Airlines—saw their passenger movement decline during this period compared to that of last year. Gulf Air carried 140,065 passengers, a decline of 17 percent.
Yet, increased flight movements have boosted the NAC’s revenue as it does the ground handing of all international airlines, The pressure on TIA to manage international and domestic flights is increasing.
According to TIA General Manager Dinesh Shrestha, the airport that had been designed to cater to only 1350 passengers per day is now catering to around 3,000 passengers daily on an average.
With TIA’s existing infrastructure and technology insufficient for managing the increased movement, international and domestic flights both are routinely getting delayed. A single aircraft needs at least 45 minutes to land and take off. However, both international and domestic flights are now delayed by over an hour these days. “It has seriously dented the image of TIA and its service delivery,” said a senior TIA official. “More traffic congestion at the airport has also raised the issue of aviation security.”
With surge in the number of international airlines, Civil Aviation Authority
of Nepal (CAAN) is now planning to run the airport round the clock. With
4-5 more international airlines planning to start their service to Nepal, the
CAAN has no option but to make TIA operational for 24 hours.
As of now, NAC, Dragon Air, Gulf Airways and Qatar Airways have night operation. “Given the difficult geographical terrain and inadequate airport infrastructure international airlines are reluctant to fly after 6 pm,” said Karna.
With Nepal celebrating 2011 as Nepal Tourism Year, there will be further increase in passenger movement at the TIA. Tourism officials are targeting at least 700,000 tourists via air in 2010. It has raised the serious question whether the TIA can manage such a flow of tourists in 2011, given the state of its infrastructure. However, Shrestha said that upscaling work is being carried out to manage the increased volume of air traffic.
INT’L AIRLINES PASSENGERS MOVEMENT (JAN-SEP)
Year 2010 Change (in percent)
Qatar Airways 215,117 21.75
Jet Airways 185,484 54.38
Nepal Airlines 177,036 9.04
Gulf Air 140,065 -17.80
Thai Airways 126,091 -6.15
Indian Airlines 123,084 -14.03
Air Arabia 109,780 19.43
Jet Lite 83,885 7.78
Etihad Airways 78,398 40.37
Biman Bangladesh 76,518 51.21
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