Pokhara, December 27: It has been almost two years since the inauguration of Pokhara International Airport. The airport, which came into operation on January 1, 2023, has not yet been able to operate regular international flights. Stakeholders here have been continuously expressing interest in bringing this airport in Pokhara, which is considered the tourism capital, into operation, saying that it would significantly contribute to the promotion of tourism. Local tourism entrepreneurs in particular are drawing attention to its regular and commercial operation through discussions with the concerned bodies and promotional flights.
Nepal Association of Tours and Travel Agents (NATTA) Gandaki is taking initiatives through promotional flights in consultation with officials of the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal for the regular operation of Pokhara International Airport. Meanwhile, a charter flight was operated from Chengdu, China, on Thursday for the upcoming Dragon Boat Race in Pokhara. A Sichuan plane carrying 129 players landed in Pokhara on the flight. At the initiative of NATTA, the plane landed in Kathmandu from Pokhara carrying an equal number of passengers for a promotional program. Journalists, tourism entrepreneurs and provincial tourism ministers participated in the event.
According to the businessmen, this flight has succeeded in breaking the misconception that aircraft cannot take off and land with excessive load. With flights and landings at full capacity, the promotional flight has also given the message that the airport is completely safe. At a press conference organized at Tribhuvan Airport, Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal General Manager Pradeep Adhikari said that there is no problem in flights and landings from Pokhara Airport. He said, “The promotional flight has confirmed that Pokhara Airport can easily operate large aircraft like Airbus. Now, the government and the private sector should collaborate to operate this infrastructure at full capacity.”
The official emphasized that policy support from the government and initiative from the private sector to utilize large investments are necessary for the effective utilization of the airport.
NATTA Gandaki President Kishor Dahal said that there is a lot of problem in making the tourism sector dynamic due to the lack of international flights from Pokhara Airport. “There is a huge investment in tourism, but due to the lack of regular flights, there has been no significant improvement in tourism activities, which has put the investment at risk. A negative message has been sent at the international level,” he said. He informed that promotional programs have been organized to continuously draw the attention of CAN officials and related bodies on this issue.
Tourism entrepreneur and former member of the Nepal Tourism Board, Basu Tripathi, said that it is the responsibility of the state to operate regular flights at the airport. “It is the government’s responsibility to ensure flights at this airport, which is a citizen’s investment. The private sector should also play a role in finding passengers and for this, continuous pressure from the citizen level is necessary,” he said. “Now, no civilized citizen is exempted from spreading false and misleading information about the airport. There is a need for collective cooperation and coordination from everyone.”
Pokhara Tourism Council outgoing chairman Pom Narayan Shrestha expressed confidence that initiatives are being taken for regular flights and that positive results will be achieved soon. “Tourism-related organizations, media and civil society need to continuously take initiatives to take the airport, which was limited to charter flights for two years of operation, to regular flights. We are continuously working on this from our side. As the technical and infrastructure challenges are being removed, there is hope that regular flights will be possible now,” he said.
This airport, built with the concessional loan assistance of the Chinese government, is considered an example of Nepal-China cooperation. The construction of the airport, built at a cost of about Rs 22 billion, was carried out by China CAMC Engineering Company. With a 2.5-kilometer runway, this airport can easily accommodate large aircraft such as wide-body aircraft. The authority says that it has a modern navigation system, a state-of-the-art terminal building and the capacity to serve 20,000 passengers daily.
Located in Pokhara, the tourist capital of Gandaki Province, this airport is expected to provide easy access to world-famous destinations such as the Annapurna Circuit, Muktinath, and Kailash Mansarovar.
