Airfare Hike Hits Passengers Hard

With a reduction in operation hours of the Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) for its upgrading, international airlines have been bound to slash the number of their flights to and from Kathmandu significantly. According to sources at the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN), the airlines have decreased their flights by about 30-35 per cent. This has led to a shortage of air tickets and a subsequent alarming hike in airfare. The busy airport now remains closed from 10 pm to 8 am daily. The airport improvement project is scheduled to be completed by the end of March next year. The airport used to remain shut only for four hours from 2 am to 6 am before the start of the expansion work. TIA used to handle about 300 domestic flights and nearly 100 international flights every day.