KATHMANDU, Jan 19: The implementation of the instructions given to the airline companies not to spend the night at the Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) is going to be made stricter.
Last year, the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) had decided to make the airline companies take their aircraft to outside Kathmandu instead of staying overnight in Kathmandu.
However, due to lax implementation, it has been decided to be stricter, Airport General Manager Pratap Babu Tiwari said. "We have been sending correspondence from time to time," he said adding, "But after finding that it has not been implemented, we are now going to take strict action."
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According to General Manager Tiwari, the airline companies have been making excuses stating that the aircraft had to be stopped in Kathmandu due to technical reasons or returned to Kathmandu due to weather conditions.
In the future, the company will have to show the "Technical Logbook" that the aircraft is technically sound. This will reveal whether the aircraft is really damaged due to technical reasons or the company is just making excuses.
Due to the tightening of this rule by CAAN, nine aircraft of Buddha Air, three of Shree Airlines and one each of Yeti Airlines, Sita Air, Nepal Airlines Corporation and Tara Air have to be taken to airports outside Kathmandu for overnight flights.
General Manager Tiwari mentioned that such a decision had to be made to reduce the risk that may occur when there is pressure on aircraft parking in Kathmandu. Similarly, it would also be easy for passengers from districts outside Kathmandu to get to Kathmandu on the first flight.
He said that its implementation will also help in managing the excess pressure in Kathmandu's skies in the morning.
