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Publish Date : 18-Feb-2014

The deputy administrator of the Civil Aviation Administration of China is to sign a bilateral revised air service agreement (ASA) with Nepalese officials.

On Feb. 24, Nepal and China will hold talks on aviation issues, including the existing airlines frequency. The two countries are schedules to sign the ASA on Feb. 25.

Sushil Ghimire, secretary at the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation (MoCTCA), will lead the Nepali delegation.

The number of seats to be given to Chinese carriers is yet to be fixed, government sources said the existing frequency could be more than doubled as some new Chinese carriers plan to connect Nepal in the future.

3 Chinese airlines, Air China, China Eastern and China Southern are operating scheduled flights to Nepal. China Southern links Kathmandu to Guangzhou, while China Eastern and Air China fly to Kathmandu for Kunming and Lhasa.

China plans to connect Nepal from Shanghai. The team will decide on the flight frequency for Chinese carriers.

The existing ASA allows Chinese airlines to operate 14 flights per week. The government issued temporary operating permits (TOP) for international airlines connecting Nepal, including the Chinese carriers, allowing an additional 14 flights per week.

The Chinese government asked Nepal to revise the ASA as travel demands have outstripped the seat capacity. The Nepali side have a number of agendas to discuss with the Chinese, amongst them is that Nepali carriers will operate on the Lhasa sector. If it is granted then, it will open the route for the national flag carrier and other private airlines to one of the world's lucrative sector.

This would end the monopoly of Air China on the route. Kathmandu-Lhasa is one of the most expensive routes in the world as one-way airfare stands at $450. Lhasa is connected from a few cities of China, while from outside it is only connected from Kathmandu.

Nepal is also proposing the circle navigation flight for Nepali helicopters to Kailash-Mansarovar in Tibet, where pilgrims come to take the ceremonial bath in the cleansing waters of the lake. Allowing Nepali helicopters to the Chinese airspace will facilitate pilgrims and will also contribute Nepal's tourism significantly.

Nepal has bilateral air service agreements with 36 countries. This provides 5.7 million seats per annum to and from Nepal. However, less than 40% of this capacity is being utilized. 27 international airlines are operating flights from Kathmandu to 22 cities in Asia and Europe.

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