Minister Pandey Summons International Airlines for Talks on Relocating Flights to Pokhara and Gautam Buddha Airports

Minister of Culture, Tourism, and Civil Aviation, Badri Pandey, has called for a meeting with international airlines to discuss flight operations from Pokhara Regional International Airport (PRIA) and Gautam Buddha International Airport (GBIA).

Scheduled for 3:30 PM on Tuesday, the meeting will include representatives from international airlines that operate regular commercial flights in Nepal. The discussion follows a directive from the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN), requiring airlines to shift 50 percent of their flights to PRIA and GBIA within two months.

This move is prompted by the planned partial closure of Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) for over 14 hours daily starting mid-October, due to the expansion of the taxiway. Consequently, flight operations will need to be relocated to the other airports.

On Sunday, CAAN communicated with international airlines operating at TIA to reschedule half of their flights to the alternative airports. TIA will be closed for 10 hours each day for five months, beginning in mid-November, to facilitate the expansion project.

Currently, airlines such as Nepal Airlines Corporation (NAC), Himalaya Airlines, Air India, Vistara, China Southern, Air China, Cathay Pacific, SriLankan Air, Qatar Airways, Malaysia Airlines, Malindo Air, Thai Airways, Fly Dubai, Korean Air, Singapore Airlines, Bhutan Airways, and Drukair Air operate international flights from TIA.

The Council of Ministers has developed an action plan for the operation of PRIA and GBIA, which includes provisions for concessions.