KATHMANDU, August 7: An Air Dynasty helicopter crashed in the Shivapuri area of Nuwakot district this afternoon (Wednesday), killing five people on…
KATHMANDU, August 7: An Air Dynasty helicopter crashed in the Shivapuri area of Nuwakot district this afternoon (Wednesday), killing five people on…
KAVRE, August 5: Kathmandu University (KU) is all set to launch a Bachelor’s degree course in Aviation Management.…
KATHMANDU, August 1: Manodhari Mainali, an 86-year-old resident of Kandaghari, witnessed the Saurya Airlines plane crash and burst into flames before her eyes as it tried to take off from the airport in Kathmandu.…
KATHMANDU, July 27: Relatives of 17 people who died in Saurya Airlines plane crash last Wednesday have received bodies after…
…
KATHMANDU: The government has established a high-level committee to investigate the reasons behind the failure of newly built international airports.…
BANGKOK: One person was killed and 30 injured Tuesday when a Singapore Airlines Boeing 777 hit severe turbulence on a flight from London and was forced to make an emergency landing in…
The government has formed a five-member probe commission to investigate Yeti Airlines plane crash in…
With a cut in the price of aviation fuel, Airlines Operators’ Association of Nepal has slashed the fare for domestic…
Protest by air hostesses (cabin crews) at Nepal Airlines Corportaion affected Nepal Airlines' both domestic and international flights on Thursday.…
May 17: Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba has urged India to provide additional air entry routes from Mahendranagar, Nepalgunj and…
May 16: Bhairahawa-based Gautam Buddha International Airport has been officially inaugurated today (Monday).…
May 9: The Airlines Operators Association of Nepal (AOAN) on Sunday informed that domestic flights will remain closed on May 13 considering the shutdown of all kinds of transportation services on the day of local…
April 28: Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) has formally started load shedding in the industrial sector after it failed to import electricity from…
April 26: Nepal Airlines Corporation (NAC) has decided to operate three flights in a week to Japan’s Narita from Kathmandu starting from May…
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', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">KAVRE, August 5: Kathmandu University (KU) is all set to launch a Bachelor’s degree course in Aviation Management. The KU School of Management is introducing this course in collaboration with Simrik Venture and Siddhartha Banasthali School, marking it as the first of its kind in Nepal.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The program will enroll 33 students in its inaugural year. The four-year curriculum is designed to equip students with knowledge and skills in aviation operations and the effective management of airlines and airports, according to Simrik Venture Chairman Rameshwor Thapa.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The course content will cover a range of topics, including aviation laws, aviation security, airport planning and management, aviation marketing, airline operations, aviation economics, the importance of tourism, and human resource management.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">“These courses will provide practical training in managing aviation activities,” Thapa stated.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">KU Vice Chancellor Dr Bhola Thapa highlighted that the program aims to produce skilled professionals in the aviation sector. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">“This is the first initiative of its kind in Nepal. We are confident in our ability to develop skilled human resources in this field,” Dr Thapa added. -- RSS</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-08-05', 'modified' => '2024-08-05', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '21465', 'image' => '20240805113534_aaaaa.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-08-05 11:34:51', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 2 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '21709', 'article_category_id' => '228', 'title' => 'Saurya Airlines Crash Causes Fear Among Residents Near Airport', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'KATHMANDU, August 1: Manodhari Mainali, an 86-year-old resident of Kandaghari, witnessed the Saurya Airlines plane crash and burst into flames before her eyes as it tried to take off from the airport in Kathmandu. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">KATHMANDU, August 1: Manodhari Mainali, an 86-year-old resident of Kandaghari, witnessed the Saurya Airlines plane crash and burst into flames before her eyes as it tried to take off from the airport in Kathmandu. Since then, she has been afraid to stay at home. Mainali, who used to enjoy watching planes take off from the airport from her roof, no longer finds any pleasure in it after the crash at Tribhuvan International Airport on July 24.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">"I won't live long, but because our home is near the airport, every day is fear for my son and grandson," Mainali said, adding, "We should have built a house far from the airport."</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">On the fateful day on July 24, 18 out of 19 people on board the ill-fated aircraft died in the crash. The captain was the sole survivor as he was thrown from the aircraft due to the impact. Government officials have stated that if the crashed plane had not hit a parked container, it could have reached the nearby settlement and hit houses.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Seeing this potential danger, Govinda Pandey of Medical Chowk in Kandaghari is afraid to send his granddaughter to a school near the airport. "After the incident, I have considered changing my granddaughter's school," he told New Business Age.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Ajay Shrestha, a businessman in Ward No. 9, Khare of Kageshwari Manohara Municipality, has a petrol pump near Tribhuvan International Airport. "This incident has saddened us," he told New Business Age. "The business that has been operating for 12 years cannot be relocated immediately."</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">In the past 12 years, there have been three major plane crashes in and near Tribhuvan International Airport. In September 2012, a Sita Air plane crashed near the airport, killing 19 people. On March 12, 2018, 51 people died in a US-Bangla plane crash inside the airport. On July 24, 2024, 18 people died in a Saurya Airlines plane crash.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">According to international standards, airports should be located away from settlements. In developed countries, there are examples of airports being relocated due to growing settlements around them.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Hong Kong moved its international airport in 1998 after the construction of high-rise buildings around the airport made it difficult for planes to take off and land. The international airport, previously located at Kai Tak, was moved to Chek Lap Kok, an island surrounded by the sea. Kansai International Airport in Japan is built in the sea.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">"In developed countries, it is customary to build airports far from settlements to avoid crashes into human settlements," said Deputy Director General of the Civila Aviation Authority of Nepal, Hansraj Pandey.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> "At the international level, noise from flights and landings should not disturb residents. This is the first condition, so airports should be far from settlements. Secondly, airports have their standards."</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Man-made structures grow as soon as settlements expand. Pandey said that the distance of such structures from the airport is determined by the Obstacle Limitation Surface (OLS). OLS is the imaginary airspace around the airport that describes the height and location of obstacles for safe landings. Once determined, the safety and operational efficiency of aircraft will increase.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">"In the past, Tribhuvan International Airport was fine, but now, as settlements increase, the airport is in the middle of dense settlements," said Pandey. "Now there is a challenge to comply with OLS standards."</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The airport must follow the OLS height criteria, and the CAAN says there will be no compromise on this. However, in the case of houses and buildings, Pandey said that houses up to four floors do not affect aircraft landings, but higher buildings will cause problems.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">"According to our rules and international standards, the 4 km area around the airport is considered sensitive, and any accident within this area falls within the airport's rescue area," said Pandey. "It is estimated that an accident can happen anywhere within 4 km, and flight and landing routes are considered more risky."</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">According to the authorities, the takeoff and landing of aircraft are very risky. On July 24, the Saurya Airlines plane had an accident soon after takeoff. The US-Bangla aircraft had an accident during landing.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The airport office has already made a plan for accidents and immediate rescue within this 4 km area and along flight and landing routes. As soon as an accident occurs within this area, the airport takes over the responsibility for rescue work, Pandey said.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Civil Aviation Regulations, 2058 stipulate that no one shall open slaughterhouses within 3 km of the airport area and no one shall openly pile and throw garbage in a way that contaminates the environment. With slaughterhouses near the airport, there is a possibility of birds flying and hitting planes, causing accidents.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">According to Pandey, the Yeti Airlines plane crash also occurred in Pokhara on January 15, 2023 near the airport.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">That is why areas such as Bouddha and Imadol are considered very sensitive as the aircraft travel take this route when flying and landing at Tribhuvan International Airport. However, settlements have rapidly developed in those areas. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Pandey of Kandaghari said that the government needs to decide whether to evacuate the dangerous areas or move the airport to a safer location. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">According to CAAN Spokesperson Pandey, the Saurya Airlines flight could have ended up in the settlement in Bauddha. However, the plane did not reach the settlement because it hit a container inside the airport while flying from Koteshwar, he said, adding that the Gothatar area was spared from a major incident.</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-08-01', 'modified' => '2024-08-01', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '21435', 'image' => '20240801011257_20240724070148_unnamed.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-08-01 13:12:18', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 3 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '21658', 'article_category_id' => '228', 'title' => 'Saurya Airlines Plane Crash: 17 Bodies Handed Over to Relatives ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'KATHMANDU, July 27: Relatives of 17 people who died in Saurya Airlines plane crash last Wednesday have received bodies after postmortem. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">KATHMANDU, July 27: Relatives of 17 people who died in Saurya Airlines plane crash last Wednesday have received bodies after postmortem. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Out of 18 people who died in the crash, 17 bodies were handed over to their relatives as of Saturday evening, said spokesperson for the Nepal Police, Deputy Inspector General Dan Bahadur Karki. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">He added that a body of the foreign national would be sent back following the due process. The relatives of the deceased received the bodies on Friday and Saturday after postmortem at Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Of the 19 passenger including crew members, 18 died when the plane of Saurya Airlines met with the accident on the premises of the Tribhuvan International Airport on July 24. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Captain Manish Ratna Shakya was the sole survivor of the crash. -- RSS</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-07-28', 'modified' => '2024-07-28', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '21384', 'image' => '20240728111735_20240724013038_80581170.jpeg', 'article_date' => '2024-07-28 11:17:01', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 4 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '21643', 'article_category_id' => '228', 'title' => 'Domestic Airliners See Drop in Passenger Volume after Saurya Airlines Crash', 'sub_title' => 'A total of 178 domestic flights landed and took off at the TIA on Wednesday, down from 225 to 250 flights normally, according to the TIA Office', 'summary' => '', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">NewBiz Report<br /> KATHMANDU, July 25</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">Nepal’s domestic air carriers have witnessed a reduction in passenger volume following the Saurya Airlines crash on Wednesday.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">While Buddha Air, Nepal’s biggest domestic carrier, has seen around 10% reduction in passenger volume since Wednesday afternoon, around 20% people canceled their Yeti Airlines flight, representatives of domestic airlines, said.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">Rupesh Joshi, director of Marketing, Sales and Ground Handling Department at Buddha Air, said Buddha has not witnessed any flight cancellation so far but the passenger volume has dropped by 5 to 10% since Wednesday afternoon.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">“It is natural that the fear factor affects the passenger movement after a plane crash,” said Joshi. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">Sudarshan Bartaula, spokesperson for Yeti Airlines, echoed Joshi regarding the fear factor. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">“Yeti saw cancellation of flights by around 15% to 20% after the plane crash on Wednesday,” Bartaula told New Business Age over the phone. “The flight bookings have dropped today (Thursday).”</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">He said that it might take a few more days for the resumption of regular passenger flow.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">In 2023, 266 domestic flights, on average, took off and landed daily at the Tribhuvan International Airport, according to the TIA office of the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN).</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">“Normally 225 to 250 domestic flights land and take off at the TIA,” said Subhash Jha, spokesperson at the TIA . “However, only 178 flights landed and took off on Wednesday.”</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">Following the crash, flights were halted for some hours which also contributed to the decline in overall flights.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">Though the domestic carriers of Nepal, including planes and helicopters, had flown a record 4.46 million passengers in 2022, the number dropped to 4.15 million in 2023, according to CAAN’s statistics. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">Buddha Air recorded the highest passenger movement last year, flying 2.57 million passengers. Yeti Airlines came second in the list with 717,030 passengers, followed by Shree Airlines with 605,338 passengers.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">Similarly, Saurya Airlines had carried 122,571 passengers last year.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">Along with a slowdown in the economy and expensive air fares, frequent air crashes have emerged as major concerns for the air travelers.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">Despite air travel being considered the safest mode of transportation, Nepal has so far recorded 108 air crashes in its aviation history, killing 959 individuals, according to CAAN.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">Pilot Manish Ratna Shakya remains the sole survivor in Wednesday’s plane crash. Shakya is being treated at the Kathmandu Medical College in Sinamangal.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">A Saurya Airlines Bombardier CRJ 200 plane with registration number 9N-AME veered off to the right and crashed on the east side of the runway, shortly after taking off from Runway 02 (Koteshwar side) at 11:11 am, CAAN said in a press statement. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">Most of the passengers on board were the staff at Saurya Airlines, headed to Pokhara for carrying out C-check of the aircraft. However, three among the deceased belonged to the same family–father, mother and their child.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">Questions have been raised about the performance of the regulator—CAAN— for allowing Saurya Airlines to accommodate the wife and child of an airline employee in the ill-fated plane carrying maintenance crew.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">The plane had caught fire in the accident leading to the death of 18 people including a Yemani national, on board. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">The bodies of the deceased were taken to the Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital at Maharajgunj, Kathmandu for autopsy. Doctors at the hospital have said that the bodies of the victims will be handed over to the relatives after identification, which might require DNA tests as some bodies have been charred beyond recognition.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-07-26', 'modified' => '2024-07-26', 'keywords' => 'crash, TIA, airport, airlines, plane, Nepal, aviation, CAAN, Saurya, passenger, volume', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '21369', 'image' => '20240726083236_20220630032136_airraft.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-07-26 08:31:13', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 5 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '21350', 'article_category_id' => '228', 'title' => 'Govt Forms High-Level Committee to Address Problems Faced by New International Airports', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'KATHMANDU: The government has established a high-level committee to investigate the reasons behind the failure of newly built international airports. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">KATHMANDU: The government has established a high-level committee to investigate the reasons behind the failure of newly built international airports. The committee has been mandated to recommend measures to attract commercial flights and to propose a new strategy. These airports, constructed and operated at a cost of billions of rupees, have struggled to secure regular international flights despite substantial investments.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">After decades of long wait, the Gautam Buddha International Airport was inaugurated on May 16, 2022, followed by Pokhara International Airport on January 1, 2023. To encourage international flights, the government announced a 100% discount on various fees for airlines flying from these airports for one year. However, this initiative has not succeeded in attracting regular international flights.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">To address this issue, the Ministry of Culture, Tourism, and Civil Aviation has formed a high-level committee chaired by Baburam Paudel, Director of the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal. The committee's mandate is to evaluate the situation and develop a new strategy. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Initially, the authority offered a 100% discount on landing fees, parking service fees, communication and aviation assistance fees (overfly), and security service fees for airlines operating from these two airports. Additionally, ground handling service fees were also waived. Despite these incentives, airlines showed little interest in operating from the new airports, preferring to use Tribhuvan International Airport, where the number of flights has increased.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">CAAN Spokesperson Hansraj Pandey explained that the discounts, including a $1,200 reduction per flight, did not significantly attract airlines. The preference for Tribhuvan International Airport is due to the high business volume in ticket sales, even with higher operational costs.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Recognizing the need for a new approach, the CAAN is now studying alternative strategies. The newly formed committee has met with stakeholders in Pokhara and Bhairahawa and collected suggestions on-site. They have also consulted with officials from airlines operating international flights in Nepal. The committee is expected to submit its report shortly, which will inform further actions to improve flight operations at the two airports.</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-06-24', 'modified' => '2024-06-24', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '21076', 'image' => '20240624014956_1672477237.Pokhara Airport.jpeg', 'article_date' => '2024-06-24 13:49:10', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 6 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '21052', 'article_category_id' => '228', 'title' => 'One Dead as Singapore Airlines Boeing Flight Hits Severe Turbulence ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'BANGKOK: One person was killed and 30 injured Tuesday when a Singapore Airlines Boeing 777 hit severe turbulence on a flight from London and was forced to make an emergency landing in Bangkok. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">BANGKOK: One person was killed and 30 injured Tuesday when a Singapore Airlines Boeing 777 hit severe turbulence on a flight from London and was forced to make an emergency landing in Bangkok. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Emergency vehicles raced onto the tarmac at the Thai capital's main airport with lights flashing and sirens blaring after Singapore-bound flight SQ321 touched down at 3:45 pm (0845 GMT). </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">It is the latest drama involving a Boeing plane, after a fuselage panel blew out of an Alaska Airlines 737 MAX in January as well as two fatal crashes in 2018 and 2019. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Singapore Airlines said the flight took off from London's Heathrow airport and "encountered severe turbulence en route". </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">"We can confirm that there are injuries and one fatality on board the Boeing 777-300ER. There were a total of 211 passengers and 18 crew on board," the airline said in a statement. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The carrier said "18 individuals have been hospitalised. Another 12 are being treated in hospitals," without giving details of the nature and severity of the injuries. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">"We deeply apologise for the traumatic experience that our passengers and crew members suffered on this flight. We are providing all necessary assistance during this difficult time," the airline said. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Flight tracking data suggested the plane dropped more than 1,800 metres (6,000 feet) in just five minutes over the Andaman Sea. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The incident came as parts of Thailand were buffeted by thunderstorms as the country's annual rainy season gets under way. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">"At 3:35 pm the airport received a distress call from the Singapore Airlines flight saying there were passengers on board injured by turbulence, and requesting an emergency landing," Suvarnabhumi Airport said in a statement. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">"The plane landed at the airport and the medical team was sent to treat all the injured." </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The airport statement described the dead passenger as a foreigner -- meaning a non-Thai. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Singapore's transport minister Chee Hong Tat said in a Facebook post that he was "deeply saddened" by the incident and offered his condolences to the family of the fatality. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><strong><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Boeing woes </span></strong></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">US aviation giant Boeing has been rocked by a series of problems in recent years and in March announced the departure of CEO Dave Calhoun as it faces intense scrutiny on safety and manufacturing standards. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The change in leadership came in the wake of the near-catastrophic incident in January when a fuselage panel on a Boeing 737 MAX 9 Alaska Airlines jet blew off mid-flight. Fatal crashes in Indonesia in 2018 and Ethiopia in 2019 -- which killed 346 people in total -- led to a lengthy grounding for the 737 MAX fleet worldwide. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The company has a late May deadline to present a plan required by the US Federal Aviation Administration, which has capped MAX production until the company shows progress on safety and quality control. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">In July, the US Justice Department will make a final determination on whether to criminally prosecute Boeing. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">And in September, the company faces a potential strike of 30,000 workers if it is unable to reach a contract with the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers. – AFP/RSS </span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-05-22', 'modified' => '2024-05-22', 'keywords' => 'Singapore, Airlines, accident, turbulence, safety', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20781', 'image' => '20240522010030_Singapore-Airlines-Sydney-Photo-credit-to-photographer-NIGEL-COGHLAN-Singapore-Airlines-B777-300ER-at-Sydney-Airport.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-05-22 12:59:07', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 7 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '16746', 'article_category_id' => '228', 'title' => 'Government Forms Five-member Probe Commission to Investigate Yeti Airline Plane Crash ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'The government has formed a five-member probe commission to investigate Yeti Airlines plane crash in Pokhara. ', 'content' => '<p><br /> <span style="font-size:18px">January 15: The government has formed a five-member probe commission to investigate Yeti Airlines plane crash in Pokhara. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">An emergency Cabinet meeting held at the Prime Minister’s residence in Baluawatr took the decision to this effect.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">The commission has been assigned the responsibilities to figure out the causes behind the crash and recommend suggestions to prevent similar crashes in the future.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">The probe commission headed by former Secretary Nagendra Ghimire comprises aviation experts Dipak Prakash Bastola and Sunil Thapa, and aeronautical engineer, Ekraj Jung Thapa as members. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">Joint Secretary Buddhisagar Lamichhane of the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation is the member-secretary of the commission. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">The commission has been given 45 days to submit the report. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance Bishnu Prasad Poudel said that the government will implement the suggestions as soon as the commission submits its report to it.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">A Yeti Airlines plane carrying 68 passengers had crashed in Pokhara on Sunday morning.<br /> The ATR-72 plane, which left for Pokhara from Kathmandu at 10.33 am in the morning, reportedly crashed in the Seti River gorge while making a final approach for landing.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">According to Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal, there were 68 passengers on board the plane including 60 Nepali nationals, and eight foreigners and four crew members including Captain Kamal KC and Anju Khatiwada.</span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-01-15', 'modified' => '2023-01-15', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '16487', 'image' => '20230115043129_collage (56).jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-01-15 16:20:28', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 8 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '16695', 'article_category_id' => '228', 'title' => 'Fare For Domestic Flights Drops ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => ' With a cut in the price of aviation fuel, Airlines Operators’ Association of Nepal has slashed the fare for domestic flights.', 'content' => '<p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">January 9: With a cut in the price of aviation fuel, Airlines Operators’ Association of Nepal has slashed the fare of domestic flights.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Issuing a press statement on Monday, the association slashed the price of domestic flights from Rs 100 to Rs 900 effective from January 11.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">According to the association, fare from Kathmandu to Dhangadhi has decreased by Rs 885. The maximum fare along the route is Rs 16,140. Fare in the mountain flight from Kathmandu has dropped by Rs 685. The maximum fare for the mountain flight from Kathmandu is Rs 14,205.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">As per the revised fare for the domestic flights, flights from Kathmandu to Bhadrapur, Kathmandu to Biratnagar and Kathmandu to Janakpur have become cheaper by Rs 600, Rs 485, and 260 respectively. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Likewise, Kathmandu-Bharatpur, and Kathmandu-Pokhara routes have seen a drop of Rs 320 and Rs 410 in fare respectively.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Nepal Oil Corporation had slashed the prices of petroleum products including aviation fuel effective from 12 pm Sunday night. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">NOC had cut the price of domestic aviation fuel by Rs 20 per liter. With the price adjustment, the price of domestic aviation fuel stands at Rs 170 per liter. </span></span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-01-09', 'modified' => '2023-01-09', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '16436', 'image' => '20230109053530_50126_1534486336.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-01-09 16:26:54', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 9 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '16537', 'article_category_id' => '228', 'title' => ' Flights Affected Due to Air Hostesses’ Protest at Nepal Airlines Corporation', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'Protest by air hostesses (cabin crews) at Nepal Airlines Corportaion affected Nepal Airlines' both domestic and international flights on Thursday. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"> <br /> December 15: Protest by air hostesses (cabin crews) of Nepal Airlines Corportaion affected both domestic and international flights of the state-owned airlines company on Thursday.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">Five domestic flights scheduled for the day were disrupted due to the agitation by the air hostesses. They had staged the protest against the NAC management for not renewing contract of two air hostesses, who have been working at the corporations for the past 15 years. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">According to the Nepal Airlines Corporation, two flights to Taplejung from Kathmandu, one to Faplu, and one to Dang and one flight to Bhojpur were disrupted.</span><br /> <span style="font-size:18px">Similarly, three international flights were affected due to the crew members’ protest. According to NAC Assistant Spokesperson Ganesh Kumar Ghimire, one scheduled flight to Saudi Arabia’s Riyadh and one flight each to India’s Bangalore and New Delhi from Tribhuvan International Airport were affected. </span><br /> <span style="font-size:18px">Flight disruption has hit hundreds of passengers hard.<br /> Air hostesses’ protest affecting regular flight has tarnished national flag carrier’s image. </span><br /> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-12-15', 'modified' => '2022-12-15', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '16278', 'image' => '20221215045628_20220517023218_Nepal-Airlines.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-12-15 16:19:13', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 10 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '15287', 'article_category_id' => '228', 'title' => 'PM Deuba Requests India to Provide Additional Air Routes ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'May 17: Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba has urged India to provide additional air entry routes from Mahendranagar, Nepalgunj and Janakpur. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">May 17: Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba has urged India to provide additional air entry routes from Mahendranagar, Nepalgunj and Janakpur. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">He made such request during a delegation-level talks held with his Indian counterpart, Narendra Modi in Lumbini on Monday. Prime Minister Deuba requested for additional air routes in order to facilitate connectivity and travel between the two countries during Modi’s official visit to Lumbini. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">According to Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN), the airway distance to Nepal from India and beyond will be shorter from these new routes.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Nepal has been pressing India since a long time to open new air entry routes with the view of facilitating flights to and from the Gautam Buddha International Airport, which came into operation on May 16, as well as the under-construction Pokhara Regional International Airport and the proposed Nijgadh International Airport.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">On June 15, 2018, India had agreed to allow new air entry routes to Nepal for international flights. The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) and Airports Authority of India (AAI) had signed a bilateral agreement on international air route to Nepal back then to allow international flights to enter Nepal through Janakpur and Biratnagar entry points.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Prior to this, international flights from India could enter Nepal's air space only from Simara.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Although India had in principle agreed to allow Nepal to use the air entry routes of Janakpur, Biratnagar, Bhairahawa Nepalgunj and Mahendranagar, India has allowed Nepal to use only Bhairahawa and Janakpur entry routes.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Officials at the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) say that India denied permission to use the other air routes citing security concerns.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">All aircraft entering Nepal through India have to use the route near Simara. However, the aircraft leaving Nepal can use Mahendranagar, Nepalgunj, Bhairahawa and Janakpur routes.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">According to officials, using the Mahendranagar and Nepalgunj routes to enter Nepal would lessen the distance by 14 nautical miles.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Nepal and India have held several rounds of discussions to open air entry routes from Mahendranagar and Nepalgunj. However, the two countries are yet to reach an understanding in this regard.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The two countries had decided to conduct a feasibility study to allow air entry routes to Nepal from Mahendranagar and Nepalgunj. However, due to India’s reluctance, the work has not yet been able to progress. An official of CAAN had informed New Business Age during an interview in 2019 that India is reluctant to grant permission along these two routes citing security concerns.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Former Prime Minister KP Oli had also discussed the issue with his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi during his visit to India but there has been no further development.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Although the political actors of India have not rejected the proposal of Nepal to use the two air routes, which is shorter than the other route in use, India’s bureaucracy has been reportedly delaying the process, according to officials at the tourism ministry.</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-05-17', 'modified' => '2022-05-17', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '15029', 'image' => '20220517023218_Nepal-Airlines.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-05-17 14:31:35', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 11 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '15279', 'article_category_id' => '228', 'title' => 'Gautam Buddha International Officially Inaugurated ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'May 16: Bhairahawa-based Gautam Buddha International Airport has been officially inaugurated today (Monday). ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">May 16: Bhairahawa-based Gautam Buddha International Airport has been officially inaugurated today (Monday). Nepal Airlines Corporation (NAC)'s narrow-body Airbus A-320 and Jazeera Airway’s aircraft from Kuwait landed at the airport today morning.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">According to the airport office, the first flight of Nepal Airlines Corporation landed at 6:55 am, and the Jazeera Airway flight landed at 7:08 am. The NAC operated commercial flights from Kathmandu. Likewise, Jazeera's aircraft landed at GBIA from Doha via Kuwait.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">This has opened the door for commercial flights from Nepal’s second international airport after Tribhuvan International Airport.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) informed that commercial flight from Gautam Buddha International Airport will take place on a regular basis from June 12.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The operation of Gautam Buddha International Airport is believed to reduce the air traffic congestion at TIA and is also expected to promote religious tourism due to its proximity to Lumbini, a pilgrimage site of Buddhists from all over the world.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-05-16', 'modified' => '2022-05-16', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '15021', 'image' => '20220516125900_1652665732.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-05-16 12:58:12', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 12 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '15235', 'article_category_id' => '228', 'title' => 'Domestic Flights to Remain Closed on Election Day', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'May 9: The Airlines Operators Association of Nepal (AOAN) on Sunday informed that domestic flights will remain closed on May 13 considering the shutdown of all kinds of transportation services on the day of local election. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">May 9: The Airlines Operators Association of Nepal (AOAN) on Sunday informed that domestic flights will remain closed on May 13 considering the shutdown of all kinds of transportation services on the day of local election. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Issuing a press statement on Sunday, the association's spokesperson Yograj Kandel said flights for humanitarian rescue and flights conducted at the instruction of the government will be operated in line with the Standard Related to Vehicular Movement Management, 2022. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">"It is notified that air services for domestic flights by airline companies associated with the association will be closed on May 13, 2022," reads the statement. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The association also apologized for the inconvenience caused to the passengers. </span></span></span><br /> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-05-09', 'modified' => '2022-05-09', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14976', 'image' => '20220509081511_20220405110412_Simokot-Airport-in-Humla.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-05-09 08:13:03', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 13 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '15184', 'article_category_id' => '228', 'title' => 'Load Shedding Returns after 4 Years ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'April 28: Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) has formally started load shedding in the industrial sector after it failed to import electricity from India.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">April 28: Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) has formally started load shedding in the industrial sector after it failed to import electricity from India. NEA has started power cuts in the industrial sector by issuing a prior notice on Wednesday. NEA had been cutting power in the industrial sector without any notice after the shortage started during this dry season. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">NEA informed that there will be power cuts in the industrial area for 48 hours effective from 10 am Wednesday. There will be power cuts at different times during this period. According to the NEA, there will be a 12-hour daily power cut in some industries and up to 16 hours in others. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Load shedding has re-started after 4 years in Nepal. Load shedding, which was prevalent for 15 years, had ended on May 14, 2018. NEA, which is supplying electricity from India, has informed that the problem has arisen as it has not been able to buy electricity from India. During the dry season, Nepal produces less electricity. At this time, electricity has to be imported from India to meet the domestic demand. But, the power generation in India itself has declined recently. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">India has a large share of electricity generated from coal. Recently, the Russia-Ukraine tensions have led to a shortage of coal around the world. This has affected India's power generation. At present, there is load shedding for up to 8 hours daily in India. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">NEA's executive director Kulman Ghising said that the power cuts have started in the industrial sector as there isn’t enough electricity supply from India. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">“There was some problem in the supply due to the unavailability of electricity from India through the bidding process. Therefore, we have started cutting electricity in the industrial sector by giving advanced notice,” he told New Business Age, “The situation will be normal if we can buy electricity from India. Otherwise there may be a problem in the electricity supply for some time.” </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">NEA is currently providing electricity to household customers 24 hours a day. Spokesperson of NEA Suresh Bhattarai says that only the power supply of the industrial sector has been cut off. He said that NEA is making efforts to ease the power supply. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Nepal will generate more electricity than it needs from June. NEA says that there will be no such problem after that. Until then, supplies may be disrupted. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The industrial sector has been hit hard after load shedding started. Fuel and electricity are indispensable to the industry. Entrepreneurs say that the operation of the industry has been affected as load shedding has started and fear that industries will run at a loss or close down due to lack of energy. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Chairman of the Birgunj Chamber of Commerce and Industry Subodh Kumar Gupta said that the industry is affected by the power cut. “Now production costs will rise and the industry will be at a loss. However, we understand the problem at the moment,” he said, “The NEA should provide quality electricity as promised. Once the electricity is cut off, our production costs automatically increase. He said that the raw material in the machine does not work when the power is cut.” He said that the industries will prepare accordingly if the electricity is provided as promised. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Chairman of the Cement Manufacturers’ Association of Nepal Dhruba Thapa said that the cement industry would be more affected by load shedding. More electricity is needed to run cement and iron rod industries. Therefore, such industries have been hit hardest by load shedding, he said. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">“If the situation returns to normal within a short period of time, then the industry can run smoothly. If the problem continues, the industry may have to shut down,” he said, “Running an industry with diesel during such an inflationary period is really difficult, but there’s no other solution. We are really worried right now.” </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">He demanded that the government should give as much as it can to the industry even after cutting the electricity for household purposes. “It would have been better if the government had cut off domestic electricity and given it to us,” he said, “But the government does not seem interested in running the industry. Now when the industry is affected, it has a negative impact on the overall economy. The government needs to understand that.” </span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-04-28', 'modified' => '2022-04-29', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14926', 'image' => '20220428024306_1651100134.Clipboard17.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-04-28 14:42:29', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 14 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '15169', 'article_category_id' => '228', 'title' => 'Nepal Airlines to Operate 3 Flights a Week to Japan from May 1 ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'April 26: Nepal Airlines Corporation (NAC) has decided to operate three flights in a week to Japan’s Narita from Kathmandu starting from May 1.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">April 26: Nepal Airlines Corporation (NAC) has decided to operate three flights in a week to Japan’s Narita from Kathmandu starting from May 1. At present, the flag carrier of Nepal has been operating two flights a week to Narita. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The NAC will be operating the flights on Sundays, Tuesdays and Fridays, informed Karishma Shrestha, former spokesperson of NAC. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The state-owned airline company of Nepal said in a statement that the flights conducted on Sundays and Tuesdays will carry 140 passengers while there will be only 120 passengers on Fridays.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The statement added that passengers' demand was growing due to the subsided rate imposed in the wake of COVID-19. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The airfare for Kathmandu-Narita round-trip is Rs 152,000 including tax in business class and Rs 119,000 in economy class. </span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-04-26', 'modified' => '2022-04-26', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14912', 'image' => '20220426105932_NAC.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-04-26 10:58:55', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ) ) $current_user = null $logged_in = falseinclude - APP/View/Elements/side_bar.ctp, line 60 View::_evaluate() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 971 View::_render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 933 View::_renderElement() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 1224 View::element() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 418 include - APP/View/Articles/index.ctp, line 157 View::_evaluate() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 971 View::_render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 933 View::render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 473 Controller::render() - CORE/Cake/Controller/Controller.php, line 968 Dispatcher::_invoke() - CORE/Cake/Routing/Dispatcher.php, line 200 Dispatcher::dispatch() - CORE/Cake/Routing/Dispatcher.php, line 167 [main] - APP/webroot/index.php, line 117
Warning (2): simplexml_load_file() [<a href='http://php.net/function.simplexml-load-file'>function.simplexml-load-file</a>]: I/O warning : failed to load external entity "" [APP/View/Elements/side_bar.ctp, line 60]file not found!Code Context// $file = 'http://aabhiyan:QUVLg8Wzs2F7G9N7@nepalstock.com.np/api/indexdata.xml';if(!$xml = simplexml_load_file($file)){$viewFile = '/var/www/html/newbusinessage.com/app/View/Elements/side_bar.ctp' $dataForView = array( 'articles' => array( (int) 0 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 1 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 2 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 3 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 4 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 5 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 6 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 7 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 8 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 9 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 10 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 11 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 12 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 13 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 14 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ) ), 'current_user' => null, 'logged_in' => false ) $articles = array( (int) 0 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '21772', 'article_category_id' => '228', 'title' => 'Air Dynasty Helicopter Crashes in Shivapuri, Killing Five', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'KATHMANDU, August 7: An Air Dynasty helicopter crashed in the Shivapuri area of Nuwakot district this afternoon (Wednesday), killing five people on board.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">KATHMANDU, August 7: An Air Dynasty helicopter crashed in the Shivapuri area of Nuwakot district this afternoon (Wednesday), killing five people on board.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Tribhuvan International Airport's General Manager, Jagannath Niraula, confirmed the crash.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Locals, suspecting an accident, informed the police after noticing flames and smoke over Suryachaur in the Shivapuri forest area, located in Shivapuri Rural Municipality-7, Nuwakot, according to Assistant Chief District Officer Krishna Prasad Humagain.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The police confirmed that four men and one woman were among the deceased.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Superintendent of Police (SP) Shantiraj Koirala from the District Police Office, Nuwakot, stated that the helicopter crashed in the Suryachaur area of Shivapuri Forest.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">"Some security personnel and locals have already reached the crash site and are currently working to extinguish the fire," informed SP Koirala.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Further details on the accident are awaited. -- RSS</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-08-07', 'modified' => '2024-08-07', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '21501', 'image' => '20240807042654_IMG-20240807-WA0005.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-08-07 16:17:06', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 1 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '21739', 'article_category_id' => '228', 'title' => 'KU to Offer Bachelor’s Degree Course in Aviation Management', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'KAVRE, August 5: Kathmandu University (KU) is all set to launch a Bachelor’s degree course in Aviation Management. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">KAVRE, August 5: Kathmandu University (KU) is all set to launch a Bachelor’s degree course in Aviation Management. The KU School of Management is introducing this course in collaboration with Simrik Venture and Siddhartha Banasthali School, marking it as the first of its kind in Nepal.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The program will enroll 33 students in its inaugural year. The four-year curriculum is designed to equip students with knowledge and skills in aviation operations and the effective management of airlines and airports, according to Simrik Venture Chairman Rameshwor Thapa.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The course content will cover a range of topics, including aviation laws, aviation security, airport planning and management, aviation marketing, airline operations, aviation economics, the importance of tourism, and human resource management.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">“These courses will provide practical training in managing aviation activities,” Thapa stated.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">KU Vice Chancellor Dr Bhola Thapa highlighted that the program aims to produce skilled professionals in the aviation sector. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">“This is the first initiative of its kind in Nepal. We are confident in our ability to develop skilled human resources in this field,” Dr Thapa added. -- RSS</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-08-05', 'modified' => '2024-08-05', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '21465', 'image' => '20240805113534_aaaaa.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-08-05 11:34:51', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 2 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '21709', 'article_category_id' => '228', 'title' => 'Saurya Airlines Crash Causes Fear Among Residents Near Airport', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'KATHMANDU, August 1: Manodhari Mainali, an 86-year-old resident of Kandaghari, witnessed the Saurya Airlines plane crash and burst into flames before her eyes as it tried to take off from the airport in Kathmandu. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">KATHMANDU, August 1: Manodhari Mainali, an 86-year-old resident of Kandaghari, witnessed the Saurya Airlines plane crash and burst into flames before her eyes as it tried to take off from the airport in Kathmandu. Since then, she has been afraid to stay at home. Mainali, who used to enjoy watching planes take off from the airport from her roof, no longer finds any pleasure in it after the crash at Tribhuvan International Airport on July 24.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">"I won't live long, but because our home is near the airport, every day is fear for my son and grandson," Mainali said, adding, "We should have built a house far from the airport."</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">On the fateful day on July 24, 18 out of 19 people on board the ill-fated aircraft died in the crash. The captain was the sole survivor as he was thrown from the aircraft due to the impact. Government officials have stated that if the crashed plane had not hit a parked container, it could have reached the nearby settlement and hit houses.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Seeing this potential danger, Govinda Pandey of Medical Chowk in Kandaghari is afraid to send his granddaughter to a school near the airport. "After the incident, I have considered changing my granddaughter's school," he told New Business Age.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Ajay Shrestha, a businessman in Ward No. 9, Khare of Kageshwari Manohara Municipality, has a petrol pump near Tribhuvan International Airport. "This incident has saddened us," he told New Business Age. "The business that has been operating for 12 years cannot be relocated immediately."</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">In the past 12 years, there have been three major plane crashes in and near Tribhuvan International Airport. In September 2012, a Sita Air plane crashed near the airport, killing 19 people. On March 12, 2018, 51 people died in a US-Bangla plane crash inside the airport. On July 24, 2024, 18 people died in a Saurya Airlines plane crash.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">According to international standards, airports should be located away from settlements. In developed countries, there are examples of airports being relocated due to growing settlements around them.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Hong Kong moved its international airport in 1998 after the construction of high-rise buildings around the airport made it difficult for planes to take off and land. The international airport, previously located at Kai Tak, was moved to Chek Lap Kok, an island surrounded by the sea. Kansai International Airport in Japan is built in the sea.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">"In developed countries, it is customary to build airports far from settlements to avoid crashes into human settlements," said Deputy Director General of the Civila Aviation Authority of Nepal, Hansraj Pandey.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> "At the international level, noise from flights and landings should not disturb residents. This is the first condition, so airports should be far from settlements. Secondly, airports have their standards."</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Man-made structures grow as soon as settlements expand. Pandey said that the distance of such structures from the airport is determined by the Obstacle Limitation Surface (OLS). OLS is the imaginary airspace around the airport that describes the height and location of obstacles for safe landings. Once determined, the safety and operational efficiency of aircraft will increase.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">"In the past, Tribhuvan International Airport was fine, but now, as settlements increase, the airport is in the middle of dense settlements," said Pandey. "Now there is a challenge to comply with OLS standards."</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The airport must follow the OLS height criteria, and the CAAN says there will be no compromise on this. However, in the case of houses and buildings, Pandey said that houses up to four floors do not affect aircraft landings, but higher buildings will cause problems.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">"According to our rules and international standards, the 4 km area around the airport is considered sensitive, and any accident within this area falls within the airport's rescue area," said Pandey. "It is estimated that an accident can happen anywhere within 4 km, and flight and landing routes are considered more risky."</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">According to the authorities, the takeoff and landing of aircraft are very risky. On July 24, the Saurya Airlines plane had an accident soon after takeoff. The US-Bangla aircraft had an accident during landing.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The airport office has already made a plan for accidents and immediate rescue within this 4 km area and along flight and landing routes. As soon as an accident occurs within this area, the airport takes over the responsibility for rescue work, Pandey said.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Civil Aviation Regulations, 2058 stipulate that no one shall open slaughterhouses within 3 km of the airport area and no one shall openly pile and throw garbage in a way that contaminates the environment. With slaughterhouses near the airport, there is a possibility of birds flying and hitting planes, causing accidents.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">According to Pandey, the Yeti Airlines plane crash also occurred in Pokhara on January 15, 2023 near the airport.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">That is why areas such as Bouddha and Imadol are considered very sensitive as the aircraft travel take this route when flying and landing at Tribhuvan International Airport. However, settlements have rapidly developed in those areas. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Pandey of Kandaghari said that the government needs to decide whether to evacuate the dangerous areas or move the airport to a safer location. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">According to CAAN Spokesperson Pandey, the Saurya Airlines flight could have ended up in the settlement in Bauddha. However, the plane did not reach the settlement because it hit a container inside the airport while flying from Koteshwar, he said, adding that the Gothatar area was spared from a major incident.</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-08-01', 'modified' => '2024-08-01', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '21435', 'image' => '20240801011257_20240724070148_unnamed.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-08-01 13:12:18', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 3 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '21658', 'article_category_id' => '228', 'title' => 'Saurya Airlines Plane Crash: 17 Bodies Handed Over to Relatives ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'KATHMANDU, July 27: Relatives of 17 people who died in Saurya Airlines plane crash last Wednesday have received bodies after postmortem. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">KATHMANDU, July 27: Relatives of 17 people who died in Saurya Airlines plane crash last Wednesday have received bodies after postmortem. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Out of 18 people who died in the crash, 17 bodies were handed over to their relatives as of Saturday evening, said spokesperson for the Nepal Police, Deputy Inspector General Dan Bahadur Karki. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">He added that a body of the foreign national would be sent back following the due process. The relatives of the deceased received the bodies on Friday and Saturday after postmortem at Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Of the 19 passenger including crew members, 18 died when the plane of Saurya Airlines met with the accident on the premises of the Tribhuvan International Airport on July 24. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Captain Manish Ratna Shakya was the sole survivor of the crash. -- RSS</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-07-28', 'modified' => '2024-07-28', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '21384', 'image' => '20240728111735_20240724013038_80581170.jpeg', 'article_date' => '2024-07-28 11:17:01', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 4 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '21643', 'article_category_id' => '228', 'title' => 'Domestic Airliners See Drop in Passenger Volume after Saurya Airlines Crash', 'sub_title' => 'A total of 178 domestic flights landed and took off at the TIA on Wednesday, down from 225 to 250 flights normally, according to the TIA Office', 'summary' => '', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">NewBiz Report<br /> KATHMANDU, July 25</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">Nepal’s domestic air carriers have witnessed a reduction in passenger volume following the Saurya Airlines crash on Wednesday.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">While Buddha Air, Nepal’s biggest domestic carrier, has seen around 10% reduction in passenger volume since Wednesday afternoon, around 20% people canceled their Yeti Airlines flight, representatives of domestic airlines, said.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">Rupesh Joshi, director of Marketing, Sales and Ground Handling Department at Buddha Air, said Buddha has not witnessed any flight cancellation so far but the passenger volume has dropped by 5 to 10% since Wednesday afternoon.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">“It is natural that the fear factor affects the passenger movement after a plane crash,” said Joshi. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">Sudarshan Bartaula, spokesperson for Yeti Airlines, echoed Joshi regarding the fear factor. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">“Yeti saw cancellation of flights by around 15% to 20% after the plane crash on Wednesday,” Bartaula told New Business Age over the phone. “The flight bookings have dropped today (Thursday).”</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">He said that it might take a few more days for the resumption of regular passenger flow.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">In 2023, 266 domestic flights, on average, took off and landed daily at the Tribhuvan International Airport, according to the TIA office of the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN).</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">“Normally 225 to 250 domestic flights land and take off at the TIA,” said Subhash Jha, spokesperson at the TIA . “However, only 178 flights landed and took off on Wednesday.”</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">Following the crash, flights were halted for some hours which also contributed to the decline in overall flights.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">Though the domestic carriers of Nepal, including planes and helicopters, had flown a record 4.46 million passengers in 2022, the number dropped to 4.15 million in 2023, according to CAAN’s statistics. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">Buddha Air recorded the highest passenger movement last year, flying 2.57 million passengers. Yeti Airlines came second in the list with 717,030 passengers, followed by Shree Airlines with 605,338 passengers.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">Similarly, Saurya Airlines had carried 122,571 passengers last year.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">Along with a slowdown in the economy and expensive air fares, frequent air crashes have emerged as major concerns for the air travelers.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">Despite air travel being considered the safest mode of transportation, Nepal has so far recorded 108 air crashes in its aviation history, killing 959 individuals, according to CAAN.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">Pilot Manish Ratna Shakya remains the sole survivor in Wednesday’s plane crash. Shakya is being treated at the Kathmandu Medical College in Sinamangal.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">A Saurya Airlines Bombardier CRJ 200 plane with registration number 9N-AME veered off to the right and crashed on the east side of the runway, shortly after taking off from Runway 02 (Koteshwar side) at 11:11 am, CAAN said in a press statement. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">Most of the passengers on board were the staff at Saurya Airlines, headed to Pokhara for carrying out C-check of the aircraft. However, three among the deceased belonged to the same family–father, mother and their child.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">Questions have been raised about the performance of the regulator—CAAN— for allowing Saurya Airlines to accommodate the wife and child of an airline employee in the ill-fated plane carrying maintenance crew.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">The plane had caught fire in the accident leading to the death of 18 people including a Yemani national, on board. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">The bodies of the deceased were taken to the Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital at Maharajgunj, Kathmandu for autopsy. Doctors at the hospital have said that the bodies of the victims will be handed over to the relatives after identification, which might require DNA tests as some bodies have been charred beyond recognition.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-07-26', 'modified' => '2024-07-26', 'keywords' => 'crash, TIA, airport, airlines, plane, Nepal, aviation, CAAN, Saurya, passenger, volume', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '21369', 'image' => '20240726083236_20220630032136_airraft.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-07-26 08:31:13', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 5 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '21350', 'article_category_id' => '228', 'title' => 'Govt Forms High-Level Committee to Address Problems Faced by New International Airports', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'KATHMANDU: The government has established a high-level committee to investigate the reasons behind the failure of newly built international airports. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">KATHMANDU: The government has established a high-level committee to investigate the reasons behind the failure of newly built international airports. The committee has been mandated to recommend measures to attract commercial flights and to propose a new strategy. These airports, constructed and operated at a cost of billions of rupees, have struggled to secure regular international flights despite substantial investments.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">After decades of long wait, the Gautam Buddha International Airport was inaugurated on May 16, 2022, followed by Pokhara International Airport on January 1, 2023. To encourage international flights, the government announced a 100% discount on various fees for airlines flying from these airports for one year. However, this initiative has not succeeded in attracting regular international flights.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">To address this issue, the Ministry of Culture, Tourism, and Civil Aviation has formed a high-level committee chaired by Baburam Paudel, Director of the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal. The committee's mandate is to evaluate the situation and develop a new strategy. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Initially, the authority offered a 100% discount on landing fees, parking service fees, communication and aviation assistance fees (overfly), and security service fees for airlines operating from these two airports. Additionally, ground handling service fees were also waived. Despite these incentives, airlines showed little interest in operating from the new airports, preferring to use Tribhuvan International Airport, where the number of flights has increased.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">CAAN Spokesperson Hansraj Pandey explained that the discounts, including a $1,200 reduction per flight, did not significantly attract airlines. The preference for Tribhuvan International Airport is due to the high business volume in ticket sales, even with higher operational costs.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Recognizing the need for a new approach, the CAAN is now studying alternative strategies. The newly formed committee has met with stakeholders in Pokhara and Bhairahawa and collected suggestions on-site. They have also consulted with officials from airlines operating international flights in Nepal. The committee is expected to submit its report shortly, which will inform further actions to improve flight operations at the two airports.</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-06-24', 'modified' => '2024-06-24', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '21076', 'image' => '20240624014956_1672477237.Pokhara Airport.jpeg', 'article_date' => '2024-06-24 13:49:10', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 6 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '21052', 'article_category_id' => '228', 'title' => 'One Dead as Singapore Airlines Boeing Flight Hits Severe Turbulence ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'BANGKOK: One person was killed and 30 injured Tuesday when a Singapore Airlines Boeing 777 hit severe turbulence on a flight from London and was forced to make an emergency landing in Bangkok. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">BANGKOK: One person was killed and 30 injured Tuesday when a Singapore Airlines Boeing 777 hit severe turbulence on a flight from London and was forced to make an emergency landing in Bangkok. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Emergency vehicles raced onto the tarmac at the Thai capital's main airport with lights flashing and sirens blaring after Singapore-bound flight SQ321 touched down at 3:45 pm (0845 GMT). </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">It is the latest drama involving a Boeing plane, after a fuselage panel blew out of an Alaska Airlines 737 MAX in January as well as two fatal crashes in 2018 and 2019. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Singapore Airlines said the flight took off from London's Heathrow airport and "encountered severe turbulence en route". </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">"We can confirm that there are injuries and one fatality on board the Boeing 777-300ER. There were a total of 211 passengers and 18 crew on board," the airline said in a statement. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The carrier said "18 individuals have been hospitalised. Another 12 are being treated in hospitals," without giving details of the nature and severity of the injuries. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">"We deeply apologise for the traumatic experience that our passengers and crew members suffered on this flight. We are providing all necessary assistance during this difficult time," the airline said. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Flight tracking data suggested the plane dropped more than 1,800 metres (6,000 feet) in just five minutes over the Andaman Sea. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The incident came as parts of Thailand were buffeted by thunderstorms as the country's annual rainy season gets under way. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">"At 3:35 pm the airport received a distress call from the Singapore Airlines flight saying there were passengers on board injured by turbulence, and requesting an emergency landing," Suvarnabhumi Airport said in a statement. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">"The plane landed at the airport and the medical team was sent to treat all the injured." </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The airport statement described the dead passenger as a foreigner -- meaning a non-Thai. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Singapore's transport minister Chee Hong Tat said in a Facebook post that he was "deeply saddened" by the incident and offered his condolences to the family of the fatality. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><strong><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Boeing woes </span></strong></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">US aviation giant Boeing has been rocked by a series of problems in recent years and in March announced the departure of CEO Dave Calhoun as it faces intense scrutiny on safety and manufacturing standards. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The change in leadership came in the wake of the near-catastrophic incident in January when a fuselage panel on a Boeing 737 MAX 9 Alaska Airlines jet blew off mid-flight. Fatal crashes in Indonesia in 2018 and Ethiopia in 2019 -- which killed 346 people in total -- led to a lengthy grounding for the 737 MAX fleet worldwide. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The company has a late May deadline to present a plan required by the US Federal Aviation Administration, which has capped MAX production until the company shows progress on safety and quality control. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">In July, the US Justice Department will make a final determination on whether to criminally prosecute Boeing. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">And in September, the company faces a potential strike of 30,000 workers if it is unable to reach a contract with the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers. – AFP/RSS </span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-05-22', 'modified' => '2024-05-22', 'keywords' => 'Singapore, Airlines, accident, turbulence, safety', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20781', 'image' => '20240522010030_Singapore-Airlines-Sydney-Photo-credit-to-photographer-NIGEL-COGHLAN-Singapore-Airlines-B777-300ER-at-Sydney-Airport.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-05-22 12:59:07', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 7 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '16746', 'article_category_id' => '228', 'title' => 'Government Forms Five-member Probe Commission to Investigate Yeti Airline Plane Crash ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'The government has formed a five-member probe commission to investigate Yeti Airlines plane crash in Pokhara. ', 'content' => '<p><br /> <span style="font-size:18px">January 15: The government has formed a five-member probe commission to investigate Yeti Airlines plane crash in Pokhara. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">An emergency Cabinet meeting held at the Prime Minister’s residence in Baluawatr took the decision to this effect.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">The commission has been assigned the responsibilities to figure out the causes behind the crash and recommend suggestions to prevent similar crashes in the future.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">The probe commission headed by former Secretary Nagendra Ghimire comprises aviation experts Dipak Prakash Bastola and Sunil Thapa, and aeronautical engineer, Ekraj Jung Thapa as members. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">Joint Secretary Buddhisagar Lamichhane of the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation is the member-secretary of the commission. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">The commission has been given 45 days to submit the report. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance Bishnu Prasad Poudel said that the government will implement the suggestions as soon as the commission submits its report to it.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">A Yeti Airlines plane carrying 68 passengers had crashed in Pokhara on Sunday morning.<br /> The ATR-72 plane, which left for Pokhara from Kathmandu at 10.33 am in the morning, reportedly crashed in the Seti River gorge while making a final approach for landing.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">According to Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal, there were 68 passengers on board the plane including 60 Nepali nationals, and eight foreigners and four crew members including Captain Kamal KC and Anju Khatiwada.</span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-01-15', 'modified' => '2023-01-15', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '16487', 'image' => '20230115043129_collage (56).jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-01-15 16:20:28', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 8 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '16695', 'article_category_id' => '228', 'title' => 'Fare For Domestic Flights Drops ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => ' With a cut in the price of aviation fuel, Airlines Operators’ Association of Nepal has slashed the fare for domestic flights.', 'content' => '<p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">January 9: With a cut in the price of aviation fuel, Airlines Operators’ Association of Nepal has slashed the fare of domestic flights.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Issuing a press statement on Monday, the association slashed the price of domestic flights from Rs 100 to Rs 900 effective from January 11.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">According to the association, fare from Kathmandu to Dhangadhi has decreased by Rs 885. The maximum fare along the route is Rs 16,140. Fare in the mountain flight from Kathmandu has dropped by Rs 685. The maximum fare for the mountain flight from Kathmandu is Rs 14,205.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">As per the revised fare for the domestic flights, flights from Kathmandu to Bhadrapur, Kathmandu to Biratnagar and Kathmandu to Janakpur have become cheaper by Rs 600, Rs 485, and 260 respectively. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Likewise, Kathmandu-Bharatpur, and Kathmandu-Pokhara routes have seen a drop of Rs 320 and Rs 410 in fare respectively.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Nepal Oil Corporation had slashed the prices of petroleum products including aviation fuel effective from 12 pm Sunday night. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">NOC had cut the price of domestic aviation fuel by Rs 20 per liter. With the price adjustment, the price of domestic aviation fuel stands at Rs 170 per liter. </span></span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-01-09', 'modified' => '2023-01-09', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '16436', 'image' => '20230109053530_50126_1534486336.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-01-09 16:26:54', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 9 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '16537', 'article_category_id' => '228', 'title' => ' Flights Affected Due to Air Hostesses’ Protest at Nepal Airlines Corporation', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'Protest by air hostesses (cabin crews) at Nepal Airlines Corportaion affected Nepal Airlines' both domestic and international flights on Thursday. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"> <br /> December 15: Protest by air hostesses (cabin crews) of Nepal Airlines Corportaion affected both domestic and international flights of the state-owned airlines company on Thursday.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">Five domestic flights scheduled for the day were disrupted due to the agitation by the air hostesses. They had staged the protest against the NAC management for not renewing contract of two air hostesses, who have been working at the corporations for the past 15 years. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">According to the Nepal Airlines Corporation, two flights to Taplejung from Kathmandu, one to Faplu, and one to Dang and one flight to Bhojpur were disrupted.</span><br /> <span style="font-size:18px">Similarly, three international flights were affected due to the crew members’ protest. According to NAC Assistant Spokesperson Ganesh Kumar Ghimire, one scheduled flight to Saudi Arabia’s Riyadh and one flight each to India’s Bangalore and New Delhi from Tribhuvan International Airport were affected. </span><br /> <span style="font-size:18px">Flight disruption has hit hundreds of passengers hard.<br /> Air hostesses’ protest affecting regular flight has tarnished national flag carrier’s image. </span><br /> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-12-15', 'modified' => '2022-12-15', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '16278', 'image' => '20221215045628_20220517023218_Nepal-Airlines.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-12-15 16:19:13', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 10 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '15287', 'article_category_id' => '228', 'title' => 'PM Deuba Requests India to Provide Additional Air Routes ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'May 17: Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba has urged India to provide additional air entry routes from Mahendranagar, Nepalgunj and Janakpur. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">May 17: Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba has urged India to provide additional air entry routes from Mahendranagar, Nepalgunj and Janakpur. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">He made such request during a delegation-level talks held with his Indian counterpart, Narendra Modi in Lumbini on Monday. Prime Minister Deuba requested for additional air routes in order to facilitate connectivity and travel between the two countries during Modi’s official visit to Lumbini. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">According to Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN), the airway distance to Nepal from India and beyond will be shorter from these new routes.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Nepal has been pressing India since a long time to open new air entry routes with the view of facilitating flights to and from the Gautam Buddha International Airport, which came into operation on May 16, as well as the under-construction Pokhara Regional International Airport and the proposed Nijgadh International Airport.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">On June 15, 2018, India had agreed to allow new air entry routes to Nepal for international flights. The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) and Airports Authority of India (AAI) had signed a bilateral agreement on international air route to Nepal back then to allow international flights to enter Nepal through Janakpur and Biratnagar entry points.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Prior to this, international flights from India could enter Nepal's air space only from Simara.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Although India had in principle agreed to allow Nepal to use the air entry routes of Janakpur, Biratnagar, Bhairahawa Nepalgunj and Mahendranagar, India has allowed Nepal to use only Bhairahawa and Janakpur entry routes.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Officials at the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) say that India denied permission to use the other air routes citing security concerns.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">All aircraft entering Nepal through India have to use the route near Simara. However, the aircraft leaving Nepal can use Mahendranagar, Nepalgunj, Bhairahawa and Janakpur routes.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">According to officials, using the Mahendranagar and Nepalgunj routes to enter Nepal would lessen the distance by 14 nautical miles.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Nepal and India have held several rounds of discussions to open air entry routes from Mahendranagar and Nepalgunj. However, the two countries are yet to reach an understanding in this regard.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The two countries had decided to conduct a feasibility study to allow air entry routes to Nepal from Mahendranagar and Nepalgunj. However, due to India’s reluctance, the work has not yet been able to progress. An official of CAAN had informed New Business Age during an interview in 2019 that India is reluctant to grant permission along these two routes citing security concerns.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Former Prime Minister KP Oli had also discussed the issue with his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi during his visit to India but there has been no further development.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Although the political actors of India have not rejected the proposal of Nepal to use the two air routes, which is shorter than the other route in use, India’s bureaucracy has been reportedly delaying the process, according to officials at the tourism ministry.</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-05-17', 'modified' => '2022-05-17', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '15029', 'image' => '20220517023218_Nepal-Airlines.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-05-17 14:31:35', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 11 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '15279', 'article_category_id' => '228', 'title' => 'Gautam Buddha International Officially Inaugurated ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'May 16: Bhairahawa-based Gautam Buddha International Airport has been officially inaugurated today (Monday). ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">May 16: Bhairahawa-based Gautam Buddha International Airport has been officially inaugurated today (Monday). Nepal Airlines Corporation (NAC)'s narrow-body Airbus A-320 and Jazeera Airway’s aircraft from Kuwait landed at the airport today morning.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">According to the airport office, the first flight of Nepal Airlines Corporation landed at 6:55 am, and the Jazeera Airway flight landed at 7:08 am. The NAC operated commercial flights from Kathmandu. Likewise, Jazeera's aircraft landed at GBIA from Doha via Kuwait.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">This has opened the door for commercial flights from Nepal’s second international airport after Tribhuvan International Airport.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) informed that commercial flight from Gautam Buddha International Airport will take place on a regular basis from June 12.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The operation of Gautam Buddha International Airport is believed to reduce the air traffic congestion at TIA and is also expected to promote religious tourism due to its proximity to Lumbini, a pilgrimage site of Buddhists from all over the world.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-05-16', 'modified' => '2022-05-16', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '15021', 'image' => '20220516125900_1652665732.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-05-16 12:58:12', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 12 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '15235', 'article_category_id' => '228', 'title' => 'Domestic Flights to Remain Closed on Election Day', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'May 9: The Airlines Operators Association of Nepal (AOAN) on Sunday informed that domestic flights will remain closed on May 13 considering the shutdown of all kinds of transportation services on the day of local election. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">May 9: The Airlines Operators Association of Nepal (AOAN) on Sunday informed that domestic flights will remain closed on May 13 considering the shutdown of all kinds of transportation services on the day of local election. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Issuing a press statement on Sunday, the association's spokesperson Yograj Kandel said flights for humanitarian rescue and flights conducted at the instruction of the government will be operated in line with the Standard Related to Vehicular Movement Management, 2022. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">"It is notified that air services for domestic flights by airline companies associated with the association will be closed on May 13, 2022," reads the statement. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The association also apologized for the inconvenience caused to the passengers. </span></span></span><br /> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-05-09', 'modified' => '2022-05-09', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14976', 'image' => '20220509081511_20220405110412_Simokot-Airport-in-Humla.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-05-09 08:13:03', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 13 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '15184', 'article_category_id' => '228', 'title' => 'Load Shedding Returns after 4 Years ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'April 28: Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) has formally started load shedding in the industrial sector after it failed to import electricity from India.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">April 28: Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) has formally started load shedding in the industrial sector after it failed to import electricity from India. NEA has started power cuts in the industrial sector by issuing a prior notice on Wednesday. NEA had been cutting power in the industrial sector without any notice after the shortage started during this dry season. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">NEA informed that there will be power cuts in the industrial area for 48 hours effective from 10 am Wednesday. There will be power cuts at different times during this period. According to the NEA, there will be a 12-hour daily power cut in some industries and up to 16 hours in others. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Load shedding has re-started after 4 years in Nepal. Load shedding, which was prevalent for 15 years, had ended on May 14, 2018. NEA, which is supplying electricity from India, has informed that the problem has arisen as it has not been able to buy electricity from India. During the dry season, Nepal produces less electricity. At this time, electricity has to be imported from India to meet the domestic demand. But, the power generation in India itself has declined recently. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">India has a large share of electricity generated from coal. Recently, the Russia-Ukraine tensions have led to a shortage of coal around the world. This has affected India's power generation. At present, there is load shedding for up to 8 hours daily in India. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">NEA's executive director Kulman Ghising said that the power cuts have started in the industrial sector as there isn’t enough electricity supply from India. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">“There was some problem in the supply due to the unavailability of electricity from India through the bidding process. Therefore, we have started cutting electricity in the industrial sector by giving advanced notice,” he told New Business Age, “The situation will be normal if we can buy electricity from India. Otherwise there may be a problem in the electricity supply for some time.” </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">NEA is currently providing electricity to household customers 24 hours a day. Spokesperson of NEA Suresh Bhattarai says that only the power supply of the industrial sector has been cut off. He said that NEA is making efforts to ease the power supply. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Nepal will generate more electricity than it needs from June. NEA says that there will be no such problem after that. Until then, supplies may be disrupted. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The industrial sector has been hit hard after load shedding started. Fuel and electricity are indispensable to the industry. Entrepreneurs say that the operation of the industry has been affected as load shedding has started and fear that industries will run at a loss or close down due to lack of energy. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Chairman of the Birgunj Chamber of Commerce and Industry Subodh Kumar Gupta said that the industry is affected by the power cut. “Now production costs will rise and the industry will be at a loss. However, we understand the problem at the moment,” he said, “The NEA should provide quality electricity as promised. Once the electricity is cut off, our production costs automatically increase. He said that the raw material in the machine does not work when the power is cut.” He said that the industries will prepare accordingly if the electricity is provided as promised. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Chairman of the Cement Manufacturers’ Association of Nepal Dhruba Thapa said that the cement industry would be more affected by load shedding. More electricity is needed to run cement and iron rod industries. Therefore, such industries have been hit hardest by load shedding, he said. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">“If the situation returns to normal within a short period of time, then the industry can run smoothly. If the problem continues, the industry may have to shut down,” he said, “Running an industry with diesel during such an inflationary period is really difficult, but there’s no other solution. We are really worried right now.” </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">He demanded that the government should give as much as it can to the industry even after cutting the electricity for household purposes. “It would have been better if the government had cut off domestic electricity and given it to us,” he said, “But the government does not seem interested in running the industry. Now when the industry is affected, it has a negative impact on the overall economy. The government needs to understand that.” </span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-04-28', 'modified' => '2022-04-29', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14926', 'image' => '20220428024306_1651100134.Clipboard17.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-04-28 14:42:29', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 14 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '15169', 'article_category_id' => '228', 'title' => 'Nepal Airlines to Operate 3 Flights a Week to Japan from May 1 ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'April 26: Nepal Airlines Corporation (NAC) has decided to operate three flights in a week to Japan’s Narita from Kathmandu starting from May 1.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">April 26: Nepal Airlines Corporation (NAC) has decided to operate three flights in a week to Japan’s Narita from Kathmandu starting from May 1. At present, the flag carrier of Nepal has been operating two flights a week to Narita. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The NAC will be operating the flights on Sundays, Tuesdays and Fridays, informed Karishma Shrestha, former spokesperson of NAC. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The state-owned airline company of Nepal said in a statement that the flights conducted on Sundays and Tuesdays will carry 140 passengers while there will be only 120 passengers on Fridays.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The statement added that passengers' demand was growing due to the subsided rate imposed in the wake of COVID-19. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The airfare for Kathmandu-Narita round-trip is Rs 152,000 including tax in business class and Rs 119,000 in economy class. </span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-04-26', 'modified' => '2022-04-26', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14912', 'image' => '20220426105932_NAC.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-04-26 10:58:55', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ) ) $current_user = null $logged_in = falsesimplexml_load_file - [internal], line ?? include - APP/View/Elements/side_bar.ctp, line 60 View::_evaluate() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 971 View::_render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 933 View::_renderElement() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 1224 View::element() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 418 include - APP/View/Articles/index.ctp, line 157 View::_evaluate() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 971 View::_render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 933 View::render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 473 Controller::render() - CORE/Cake/Controller/Controller.php, line 968 Dispatcher::_invoke() - CORE/Cake/Routing/Dispatcher.php, line 200 Dispatcher::dispatch() - CORE/Cake/Routing/Dispatcher.php, line 167 [main] - APP/webroot/index.php, line 117
Notice (8): Undefined variable: file [APP/View/Elements/side_bar.ctp, line 133]Code Context// $file = 'http://aabhiyan:QUVLg8Wzs2F7G9N7@nepalstock.com.np/api/subindexdata.xml';if(!$xml = simplexml_load_file($file)){$viewFile = '/var/www/html/newbusinessage.com/app/View/Elements/side_bar.ctp' $dataForView = array( 'articles' => array( (int) 0 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 1 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 2 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 3 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 4 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 5 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 6 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 7 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 8 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 9 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 10 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 11 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 12 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 13 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 14 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ) ), 'current_user' => null, 'logged_in' => false ) $articles = array( (int) 0 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '21772', 'article_category_id' => '228', 'title' => 'Air Dynasty Helicopter Crashes in Shivapuri, Killing Five', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'KATHMANDU, August 7: An Air Dynasty helicopter crashed in the Shivapuri area of Nuwakot district this afternoon (Wednesday), killing five people on board.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">KATHMANDU, August 7: An Air Dynasty helicopter crashed in the Shivapuri area of Nuwakot district this afternoon (Wednesday), killing five people on board.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Tribhuvan International Airport's General Manager, Jagannath Niraula, confirmed the crash.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Locals, suspecting an accident, informed the police after noticing flames and smoke over Suryachaur in the Shivapuri forest area, located in Shivapuri Rural Municipality-7, Nuwakot, according to Assistant Chief District Officer Krishna Prasad Humagain.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The police confirmed that four men and one woman were among the deceased.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Superintendent of Police (SP) Shantiraj Koirala from the District Police Office, Nuwakot, stated that the helicopter crashed in the Suryachaur area of Shivapuri Forest.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">"Some security personnel and locals have already reached the crash site and are currently working to extinguish the fire," informed SP Koirala.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Further details on the accident are awaited. -- RSS</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-08-07', 'modified' => '2024-08-07', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '21501', 'image' => '20240807042654_IMG-20240807-WA0005.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-08-07 16:17:06', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 1 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '21739', 'article_category_id' => '228', 'title' => 'KU to Offer Bachelor’s Degree Course in Aviation Management', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'KAVRE, August 5: Kathmandu University (KU) is all set to launch a Bachelor’s degree course in Aviation Management. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">KAVRE, August 5: Kathmandu University (KU) is all set to launch a Bachelor’s degree course in Aviation Management. The KU School of Management is introducing this course in collaboration with Simrik Venture and Siddhartha Banasthali School, marking it as the first of its kind in Nepal.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The program will enroll 33 students in its inaugural year. The four-year curriculum is designed to equip students with knowledge and skills in aviation operations and the effective management of airlines and airports, according to Simrik Venture Chairman Rameshwor Thapa.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The course content will cover a range of topics, including aviation laws, aviation security, airport planning and management, aviation marketing, airline operations, aviation economics, the importance of tourism, and human resource management.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">“These courses will provide practical training in managing aviation activities,” Thapa stated.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">KU Vice Chancellor Dr Bhola Thapa highlighted that the program aims to produce skilled professionals in the aviation sector. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">“This is the first initiative of its kind in Nepal. We are confident in our ability to develop skilled human resources in this field,” Dr Thapa added. -- RSS</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-08-05', 'modified' => '2024-08-05', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '21465', 'image' => '20240805113534_aaaaa.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-08-05 11:34:51', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 2 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '21709', 'article_category_id' => '228', 'title' => 'Saurya Airlines Crash Causes Fear Among Residents Near Airport', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'KATHMANDU, August 1: Manodhari Mainali, an 86-year-old resident of Kandaghari, witnessed the Saurya Airlines plane crash and burst into flames before her eyes as it tried to take off from the airport in Kathmandu. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">KATHMANDU, August 1: Manodhari Mainali, an 86-year-old resident of Kandaghari, witnessed the Saurya Airlines plane crash and burst into flames before her eyes as it tried to take off from the airport in Kathmandu. Since then, she has been afraid to stay at home. Mainali, who used to enjoy watching planes take off from the airport from her roof, no longer finds any pleasure in it after the crash at Tribhuvan International Airport on July 24.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">"I won't live long, but because our home is near the airport, every day is fear for my son and grandson," Mainali said, adding, "We should have built a house far from the airport."</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">On the fateful day on July 24, 18 out of 19 people on board the ill-fated aircraft died in the crash. The captain was the sole survivor as he was thrown from the aircraft due to the impact. Government officials have stated that if the crashed plane had not hit a parked container, it could have reached the nearby settlement and hit houses.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Seeing this potential danger, Govinda Pandey of Medical Chowk in Kandaghari is afraid to send his granddaughter to a school near the airport. "After the incident, I have considered changing my granddaughter's school," he told New Business Age.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Ajay Shrestha, a businessman in Ward No. 9, Khare of Kageshwari Manohara Municipality, has a petrol pump near Tribhuvan International Airport. "This incident has saddened us," he told New Business Age. "The business that has been operating for 12 years cannot be relocated immediately."</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">In the past 12 years, there have been three major plane crashes in and near Tribhuvan International Airport. In September 2012, a Sita Air plane crashed near the airport, killing 19 people. On March 12, 2018, 51 people died in a US-Bangla plane crash inside the airport. On July 24, 2024, 18 people died in a Saurya Airlines plane crash.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">According to international standards, airports should be located away from settlements. In developed countries, there are examples of airports being relocated due to growing settlements around them.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Hong Kong moved its international airport in 1998 after the construction of high-rise buildings around the airport made it difficult for planes to take off and land. The international airport, previously located at Kai Tak, was moved to Chek Lap Kok, an island surrounded by the sea. Kansai International Airport in Japan is built in the sea.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">"In developed countries, it is customary to build airports far from settlements to avoid crashes into human settlements," said Deputy Director General of the Civila Aviation Authority of Nepal, Hansraj Pandey.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> "At the international level, noise from flights and landings should not disturb residents. This is the first condition, so airports should be far from settlements. Secondly, airports have their standards."</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Man-made structures grow as soon as settlements expand. Pandey said that the distance of such structures from the airport is determined by the Obstacle Limitation Surface (OLS). OLS is the imaginary airspace around the airport that describes the height and location of obstacles for safe landings. Once determined, the safety and operational efficiency of aircraft will increase.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">"In the past, Tribhuvan International Airport was fine, but now, as settlements increase, the airport is in the middle of dense settlements," said Pandey. "Now there is a challenge to comply with OLS standards."</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The airport must follow the OLS height criteria, and the CAAN says there will be no compromise on this. However, in the case of houses and buildings, Pandey said that houses up to four floors do not affect aircraft landings, but higher buildings will cause problems.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">"According to our rules and international standards, the 4 km area around the airport is considered sensitive, and any accident within this area falls within the airport's rescue area," said Pandey. "It is estimated that an accident can happen anywhere within 4 km, and flight and landing routes are considered more risky."</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">According to the authorities, the takeoff and landing of aircraft are very risky. On July 24, the Saurya Airlines plane had an accident soon after takeoff. The US-Bangla aircraft had an accident during landing.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The airport office has already made a plan for accidents and immediate rescue within this 4 km area and along flight and landing routes. As soon as an accident occurs within this area, the airport takes over the responsibility for rescue work, Pandey said.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Civil Aviation Regulations, 2058 stipulate that no one shall open slaughterhouses within 3 km of the airport area and no one shall openly pile and throw garbage in a way that contaminates the environment. With slaughterhouses near the airport, there is a possibility of birds flying and hitting planes, causing accidents.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">According to Pandey, the Yeti Airlines plane crash also occurred in Pokhara on January 15, 2023 near the airport.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">That is why areas such as Bouddha and Imadol are considered very sensitive as the aircraft travel take this route when flying and landing at Tribhuvan International Airport. However, settlements have rapidly developed in those areas. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Pandey of Kandaghari said that the government needs to decide whether to evacuate the dangerous areas or move the airport to a safer location. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">According to CAAN Spokesperson Pandey, the Saurya Airlines flight could have ended up in the settlement in Bauddha. However, the plane did not reach the settlement because it hit a container inside the airport while flying from Koteshwar, he said, adding that the Gothatar area was spared from a major incident.</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-08-01', 'modified' => '2024-08-01', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '21435', 'image' => '20240801011257_20240724070148_unnamed.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-08-01 13:12:18', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 3 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '21658', 'article_category_id' => '228', 'title' => 'Saurya Airlines Plane Crash: 17 Bodies Handed Over to Relatives ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'KATHMANDU, July 27: Relatives of 17 people who died in Saurya Airlines plane crash last Wednesday have received bodies after postmortem. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">KATHMANDU, July 27: Relatives of 17 people who died in Saurya Airlines plane crash last Wednesday have received bodies after postmortem. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Out of 18 people who died in the crash, 17 bodies were handed over to their relatives as of Saturday evening, said spokesperson for the Nepal Police, Deputy Inspector General Dan Bahadur Karki. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">He added that a body of the foreign national would be sent back following the due process. The relatives of the deceased received the bodies on Friday and Saturday after postmortem at Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Of the 19 passenger including crew members, 18 died when the plane of Saurya Airlines met with the accident on the premises of the Tribhuvan International Airport on July 24. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Captain Manish Ratna Shakya was the sole survivor of the crash. -- RSS</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-07-28', 'modified' => '2024-07-28', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '21384', 'image' => '20240728111735_20240724013038_80581170.jpeg', 'article_date' => '2024-07-28 11:17:01', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 4 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '21643', 'article_category_id' => '228', 'title' => 'Domestic Airliners See Drop in Passenger Volume after Saurya Airlines Crash', 'sub_title' => 'A total of 178 domestic flights landed and took off at the TIA on Wednesday, down from 225 to 250 flights normally, according to the TIA Office', 'summary' => '', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">NewBiz Report<br /> KATHMANDU, July 25</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">Nepal’s domestic air carriers have witnessed a reduction in passenger volume following the Saurya Airlines crash on Wednesday.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">While Buddha Air, Nepal’s biggest domestic carrier, has seen around 10% reduction in passenger volume since Wednesday afternoon, around 20% people canceled their Yeti Airlines flight, representatives of domestic airlines, said.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">Rupesh Joshi, director of Marketing, Sales and Ground Handling Department at Buddha Air, said Buddha has not witnessed any flight cancellation so far but the passenger volume has dropped by 5 to 10% since Wednesday afternoon.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">“It is natural that the fear factor affects the passenger movement after a plane crash,” said Joshi. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">Sudarshan Bartaula, spokesperson for Yeti Airlines, echoed Joshi regarding the fear factor. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">“Yeti saw cancellation of flights by around 15% to 20% after the plane crash on Wednesday,” Bartaula told New Business Age over the phone. “The flight bookings have dropped today (Thursday).”</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">He said that it might take a few more days for the resumption of regular passenger flow.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">In 2023, 266 domestic flights, on average, took off and landed daily at the Tribhuvan International Airport, according to the TIA office of the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN).</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">“Normally 225 to 250 domestic flights land and take off at the TIA,” said Subhash Jha, spokesperson at the TIA . “However, only 178 flights landed and took off on Wednesday.”</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">Following the crash, flights were halted for some hours which also contributed to the decline in overall flights.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">Though the domestic carriers of Nepal, including planes and helicopters, had flown a record 4.46 million passengers in 2022, the number dropped to 4.15 million in 2023, according to CAAN’s statistics. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">Buddha Air recorded the highest passenger movement last year, flying 2.57 million passengers. Yeti Airlines came second in the list with 717,030 passengers, followed by Shree Airlines with 605,338 passengers.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">Similarly, Saurya Airlines had carried 122,571 passengers last year.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">Along with a slowdown in the economy and expensive air fares, frequent air crashes have emerged as major concerns for the air travelers.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">Despite air travel being considered the safest mode of transportation, Nepal has so far recorded 108 air crashes in its aviation history, killing 959 individuals, according to CAAN.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">Pilot Manish Ratna Shakya remains the sole survivor in Wednesday’s plane crash. Shakya is being treated at the Kathmandu Medical College in Sinamangal.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">A Saurya Airlines Bombardier CRJ 200 plane with registration number 9N-AME veered off to the right and crashed on the east side of the runway, shortly after taking off from Runway 02 (Koteshwar side) at 11:11 am, CAAN said in a press statement. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">Most of the passengers on board were the staff at Saurya Airlines, headed to Pokhara for carrying out C-check of the aircraft. However, three among the deceased belonged to the same family–father, mother and their child.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">Questions have been raised about the performance of the regulator—CAAN— for allowing Saurya Airlines to accommodate the wife and child of an airline employee in the ill-fated plane carrying maintenance crew.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">The plane had caught fire in the accident leading to the death of 18 people including a Yemani national, on board. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">The bodies of the deceased were taken to the Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital at Maharajgunj, Kathmandu for autopsy. Doctors at the hospital have said that the bodies of the victims will be handed over to the relatives after identification, which might require DNA tests as some bodies have been charred beyond recognition.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-07-26', 'modified' => '2024-07-26', 'keywords' => 'crash, TIA, airport, airlines, plane, Nepal, aviation, CAAN, Saurya, passenger, volume', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '21369', 'image' => '20240726083236_20220630032136_airraft.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-07-26 08:31:13', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 5 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '21350', 'article_category_id' => '228', 'title' => 'Govt Forms High-Level Committee to Address Problems Faced by New International Airports', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'KATHMANDU: The government has established a high-level committee to investigate the reasons behind the failure of newly built international airports. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">KATHMANDU: The government has established a high-level committee to investigate the reasons behind the failure of newly built international airports. The committee has been mandated to recommend measures to attract commercial flights and to propose a new strategy. These airports, constructed and operated at a cost of billions of rupees, have struggled to secure regular international flights despite substantial investments.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">After decades of long wait, the Gautam Buddha International Airport was inaugurated on May 16, 2022, followed by Pokhara International Airport on January 1, 2023. To encourage international flights, the government announced a 100% discount on various fees for airlines flying from these airports for one year. However, this initiative has not succeeded in attracting regular international flights.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">To address this issue, the Ministry of Culture, Tourism, and Civil Aviation has formed a high-level committee chaired by Baburam Paudel, Director of the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal. The committee's mandate is to evaluate the situation and develop a new strategy. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Initially, the authority offered a 100% discount on landing fees, parking service fees, communication and aviation assistance fees (overfly), and security service fees for airlines operating from these two airports. Additionally, ground handling service fees were also waived. Despite these incentives, airlines showed little interest in operating from the new airports, preferring to use Tribhuvan International Airport, where the number of flights has increased.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">CAAN Spokesperson Hansraj Pandey explained that the discounts, including a $1,200 reduction per flight, did not significantly attract airlines. The preference for Tribhuvan International Airport is due to the high business volume in ticket sales, even with higher operational costs.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Recognizing the need for a new approach, the CAAN is now studying alternative strategies. The newly formed committee has met with stakeholders in Pokhara and Bhairahawa and collected suggestions on-site. They have also consulted with officials from airlines operating international flights in Nepal. The committee is expected to submit its report shortly, which will inform further actions to improve flight operations at the two airports.</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-06-24', 'modified' => '2024-06-24', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '21076', 'image' => '20240624014956_1672477237.Pokhara Airport.jpeg', 'article_date' => '2024-06-24 13:49:10', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 6 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '21052', 'article_category_id' => '228', 'title' => 'One Dead as Singapore Airlines Boeing Flight Hits Severe Turbulence ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'BANGKOK: One person was killed and 30 injured Tuesday when a Singapore Airlines Boeing 777 hit severe turbulence on a flight from London and was forced to make an emergency landing in Bangkok. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">BANGKOK: One person was killed and 30 injured Tuesday when a Singapore Airlines Boeing 777 hit severe turbulence on a flight from London and was forced to make an emergency landing in Bangkok. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Emergency vehicles raced onto the tarmac at the Thai capital's main airport with lights flashing and sirens blaring after Singapore-bound flight SQ321 touched down at 3:45 pm (0845 GMT). </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">It is the latest drama involving a Boeing plane, after a fuselage panel blew out of an Alaska Airlines 737 MAX in January as well as two fatal crashes in 2018 and 2019. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Singapore Airlines said the flight took off from London's Heathrow airport and "encountered severe turbulence en route". </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">"We can confirm that there are injuries and one fatality on board the Boeing 777-300ER. There were a total of 211 passengers and 18 crew on board," the airline said in a statement. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The carrier said "18 individuals have been hospitalised. Another 12 are being treated in hospitals," without giving details of the nature and severity of the injuries. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">"We deeply apologise for the traumatic experience that our passengers and crew members suffered on this flight. We are providing all necessary assistance during this difficult time," the airline said. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Flight tracking data suggested the plane dropped more than 1,800 metres (6,000 feet) in just five minutes over the Andaman Sea. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The incident came as parts of Thailand were buffeted by thunderstorms as the country's annual rainy season gets under way. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">"At 3:35 pm the airport received a distress call from the Singapore Airlines flight saying there were passengers on board injured by turbulence, and requesting an emergency landing," Suvarnabhumi Airport said in a statement. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">"The plane landed at the airport and the medical team was sent to treat all the injured." </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The airport statement described the dead passenger as a foreigner -- meaning a non-Thai. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Singapore's transport minister Chee Hong Tat said in a Facebook post that he was "deeply saddened" by the incident and offered his condolences to the family of the fatality. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><strong><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Boeing woes </span></strong></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">US aviation giant Boeing has been rocked by a series of problems in recent years and in March announced the departure of CEO Dave Calhoun as it faces intense scrutiny on safety and manufacturing standards. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The change in leadership came in the wake of the near-catastrophic incident in January when a fuselage panel on a Boeing 737 MAX 9 Alaska Airlines jet blew off mid-flight. Fatal crashes in Indonesia in 2018 and Ethiopia in 2019 -- which killed 346 people in total -- led to a lengthy grounding for the 737 MAX fleet worldwide. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The company has a late May deadline to present a plan required by the US Federal Aviation Administration, which has capped MAX production until the company shows progress on safety and quality control. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">In July, the US Justice Department will make a final determination on whether to criminally prosecute Boeing. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">And in September, the company faces a potential strike of 30,000 workers if it is unable to reach a contract with the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers. – AFP/RSS </span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-05-22', 'modified' => '2024-05-22', 'keywords' => 'Singapore, Airlines, accident, turbulence, safety', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20781', 'image' => '20240522010030_Singapore-Airlines-Sydney-Photo-credit-to-photographer-NIGEL-COGHLAN-Singapore-Airlines-B777-300ER-at-Sydney-Airport.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-05-22 12:59:07', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 7 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '16746', 'article_category_id' => '228', 'title' => 'Government Forms Five-member Probe Commission to Investigate Yeti Airline Plane Crash ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'The government has formed a five-member probe commission to investigate Yeti Airlines plane crash in Pokhara. ', 'content' => '<p><br /> <span style="font-size:18px">January 15: The government has formed a five-member probe commission to investigate Yeti Airlines plane crash in Pokhara. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">An emergency Cabinet meeting held at the Prime Minister’s residence in Baluawatr took the decision to this effect.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">The commission has been assigned the responsibilities to figure out the causes behind the crash and recommend suggestions to prevent similar crashes in the future.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">The probe commission headed by former Secretary Nagendra Ghimire comprises aviation experts Dipak Prakash Bastola and Sunil Thapa, and aeronautical engineer, Ekraj Jung Thapa as members. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">Joint Secretary Buddhisagar Lamichhane of the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation is the member-secretary of the commission. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">The commission has been given 45 days to submit the report. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance Bishnu Prasad Poudel said that the government will implement the suggestions as soon as the commission submits its report to it.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">A Yeti Airlines plane carrying 68 passengers had crashed in Pokhara on Sunday morning.<br /> The ATR-72 plane, which left for Pokhara from Kathmandu at 10.33 am in the morning, reportedly crashed in the Seti River gorge while making a final approach for landing.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">According to Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal, there were 68 passengers on board the plane including 60 Nepali nationals, and eight foreigners and four crew members including Captain Kamal KC and Anju Khatiwada.</span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-01-15', 'modified' => '2023-01-15', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '16487', 'image' => '20230115043129_collage (56).jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-01-15 16:20:28', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 8 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '16695', 'article_category_id' => '228', 'title' => 'Fare For Domestic Flights Drops ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => ' With a cut in the price of aviation fuel, Airlines Operators’ Association of Nepal has slashed the fare for domestic flights.', 'content' => '<p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">January 9: With a cut in the price of aviation fuel, Airlines Operators’ Association of Nepal has slashed the fare of domestic flights.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Issuing a press statement on Monday, the association slashed the price of domestic flights from Rs 100 to Rs 900 effective from January 11.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">According to the association, fare from Kathmandu to Dhangadhi has decreased by Rs 885. The maximum fare along the route is Rs 16,140. Fare in the mountain flight from Kathmandu has dropped by Rs 685. The maximum fare for the mountain flight from Kathmandu is Rs 14,205.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">As per the revised fare for the domestic flights, flights from Kathmandu to Bhadrapur, Kathmandu to Biratnagar and Kathmandu to Janakpur have become cheaper by Rs 600, Rs 485, and 260 respectively. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Likewise, Kathmandu-Bharatpur, and Kathmandu-Pokhara routes have seen a drop of Rs 320 and Rs 410 in fare respectively.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Nepal Oil Corporation had slashed the prices of petroleum products including aviation fuel effective from 12 pm Sunday night. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">NOC had cut the price of domestic aviation fuel by Rs 20 per liter. With the price adjustment, the price of domestic aviation fuel stands at Rs 170 per liter. </span></span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-01-09', 'modified' => '2023-01-09', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '16436', 'image' => '20230109053530_50126_1534486336.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-01-09 16:26:54', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 9 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '16537', 'article_category_id' => '228', 'title' => ' Flights Affected Due to Air Hostesses’ Protest at Nepal Airlines Corporation', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'Protest by air hostesses (cabin crews) at Nepal Airlines Corportaion affected Nepal Airlines' both domestic and international flights on Thursday. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"> <br /> December 15: Protest by air hostesses (cabin crews) of Nepal Airlines Corportaion affected both domestic and international flights of the state-owned airlines company on Thursday.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">Five domestic flights scheduled for the day were disrupted due to the agitation by the air hostesses. They had staged the protest against the NAC management for not renewing contract of two air hostesses, who have been working at the corporations for the past 15 years. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">According to the Nepal Airlines Corporation, two flights to Taplejung from Kathmandu, one to Faplu, and one to Dang and one flight to Bhojpur were disrupted.</span><br /> <span style="font-size:18px">Similarly, three international flights were affected due to the crew members’ protest. According to NAC Assistant Spokesperson Ganesh Kumar Ghimire, one scheduled flight to Saudi Arabia’s Riyadh and one flight each to India’s Bangalore and New Delhi from Tribhuvan International Airport were affected. </span><br /> <span style="font-size:18px">Flight disruption has hit hundreds of passengers hard.<br /> Air hostesses’ protest affecting regular flight has tarnished national flag carrier’s image. </span><br /> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-12-15', 'modified' => '2022-12-15', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '16278', 'image' => '20221215045628_20220517023218_Nepal-Airlines.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-12-15 16:19:13', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 10 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '15287', 'article_category_id' => '228', 'title' => 'PM Deuba Requests India to Provide Additional Air Routes ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'May 17: Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba has urged India to provide additional air entry routes from Mahendranagar, Nepalgunj and Janakpur. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">May 17: Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba has urged India to provide additional air entry routes from Mahendranagar, Nepalgunj and Janakpur. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">He made such request during a delegation-level talks held with his Indian counterpart, Narendra Modi in Lumbini on Monday. Prime Minister Deuba requested for additional air routes in order to facilitate connectivity and travel between the two countries during Modi’s official visit to Lumbini. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">According to Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN), the airway distance to Nepal from India and beyond will be shorter from these new routes.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Nepal has been pressing India since a long time to open new air entry routes with the view of facilitating flights to and from the Gautam Buddha International Airport, which came into operation on May 16, as well as the under-construction Pokhara Regional International Airport and the proposed Nijgadh International Airport.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">On June 15, 2018, India had agreed to allow new air entry routes to Nepal for international flights. The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) and Airports Authority of India (AAI) had signed a bilateral agreement on international air route to Nepal back then to allow international flights to enter Nepal through Janakpur and Biratnagar entry points.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Prior to this, international flights from India could enter Nepal's air space only from Simara.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Although India had in principle agreed to allow Nepal to use the air entry routes of Janakpur, Biratnagar, Bhairahawa Nepalgunj and Mahendranagar, India has allowed Nepal to use only Bhairahawa and Janakpur entry routes.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Officials at the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) say that India denied permission to use the other air routes citing security concerns.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">All aircraft entering Nepal through India have to use the route near Simara. However, the aircraft leaving Nepal can use Mahendranagar, Nepalgunj, Bhairahawa and Janakpur routes.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">According to officials, using the Mahendranagar and Nepalgunj routes to enter Nepal would lessen the distance by 14 nautical miles.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Nepal and India have held several rounds of discussions to open air entry routes from Mahendranagar and Nepalgunj. However, the two countries are yet to reach an understanding in this regard.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The two countries had decided to conduct a feasibility study to allow air entry routes to Nepal from Mahendranagar and Nepalgunj. However, due to India’s reluctance, the work has not yet been able to progress. An official of CAAN had informed New Business Age during an interview in 2019 that India is reluctant to grant permission along these two routes citing security concerns.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Former Prime Minister KP Oli had also discussed the issue with his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi during his visit to India but there has been no further development.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Although the political actors of India have not rejected the proposal of Nepal to use the two air routes, which is shorter than the other route in use, India’s bureaucracy has been reportedly delaying the process, according to officials at the tourism ministry.</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-05-17', 'modified' => '2022-05-17', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '15029', 'image' => '20220517023218_Nepal-Airlines.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-05-17 14:31:35', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 11 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '15279', 'article_category_id' => '228', 'title' => 'Gautam Buddha International Officially Inaugurated ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'May 16: Bhairahawa-based Gautam Buddha International Airport has been officially inaugurated today (Monday). ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">May 16: Bhairahawa-based Gautam Buddha International Airport has been officially inaugurated today (Monday). Nepal Airlines Corporation (NAC)'s narrow-body Airbus A-320 and Jazeera Airway’s aircraft from Kuwait landed at the airport today morning.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">According to the airport office, the first flight of Nepal Airlines Corporation landed at 6:55 am, and the Jazeera Airway flight landed at 7:08 am. The NAC operated commercial flights from Kathmandu. Likewise, Jazeera's aircraft landed at GBIA from Doha via Kuwait.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">This has opened the door for commercial flights from Nepal’s second international airport after Tribhuvan International Airport.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) informed that commercial flight from Gautam Buddha International Airport will take place on a regular basis from June 12.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The operation of Gautam Buddha International Airport is believed to reduce the air traffic congestion at TIA and is also expected to promote religious tourism due to its proximity to Lumbini, a pilgrimage site of Buddhists from all over the world.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-05-16', 'modified' => '2022-05-16', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '15021', 'image' => '20220516125900_1652665732.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-05-16 12:58:12', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 12 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '15235', 'article_category_id' => '228', 'title' => 'Domestic Flights to Remain Closed on Election Day', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'May 9: The Airlines Operators Association of Nepal (AOAN) on Sunday informed that domestic flights will remain closed on May 13 considering the shutdown of all kinds of transportation services on the day of local election. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">May 9: The Airlines Operators Association of Nepal (AOAN) on Sunday informed that domestic flights will remain closed on May 13 considering the shutdown of all kinds of transportation services on the day of local election. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Issuing a press statement on Sunday, the association's spokesperson Yograj Kandel said flights for humanitarian rescue and flights conducted at the instruction of the government will be operated in line with the Standard Related to Vehicular Movement Management, 2022. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">"It is notified that air services for domestic flights by airline companies associated with the association will be closed on May 13, 2022," reads the statement. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The association also apologized for the inconvenience caused to the passengers. </span></span></span><br /> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-05-09', 'modified' => '2022-05-09', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14976', 'image' => '20220509081511_20220405110412_Simokot-Airport-in-Humla.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-05-09 08:13:03', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 13 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '15184', 'article_category_id' => '228', 'title' => 'Load Shedding Returns after 4 Years ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'April 28: Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) has formally started load shedding in the industrial sector after it failed to import electricity from India.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">April 28: Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) has formally started load shedding in the industrial sector after it failed to import electricity from India. NEA has started power cuts in the industrial sector by issuing a prior notice on Wednesday. NEA had been cutting power in the industrial sector without any notice after the shortage started during this dry season. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">NEA informed that there will be power cuts in the industrial area for 48 hours effective from 10 am Wednesday. There will be power cuts at different times during this period. According to the NEA, there will be a 12-hour daily power cut in some industries and up to 16 hours in others. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Load shedding has re-started after 4 years in Nepal. Load shedding, which was prevalent for 15 years, had ended on May 14, 2018. NEA, which is supplying electricity from India, has informed that the problem has arisen as it has not been able to buy electricity from India. During the dry season, Nepal produces less electricity. At this time, electricity has to be imported from India to meet the domestic demand. But, the power generation in India itself has declined recently. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">India has a large share of electricity generated from coal. Recently, the Russia-Ukraine tensions have led to a shortage of coal around the world. This has affected India's power generation. At present, there is load shedding for up to 8 hours daily in India. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">NEA's executive director Kulman Ghising said that the power cuts have started in the industrial sector as there isn’t enough electricity supply from India. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">“There was some problem in the supply due to the unavailability of electricity from India through the bidding process. Therefore, we have started cutting electricity in the industrial sector by giving advanced notice,” he told New Business Age, “The situation will be normal if we can buy electricity from India. Otherwise there may be a problem in the electricity supply for some time.” </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">NEA is currently providing electricity to household customers 24 hours a day. Spokesperson of NEA Suresh Bhattarai says that only the power supply of the industrial sector has been cut off. He said that NEA is making efforts to ease the power supply. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Nepal will generate more electricity than it needs from June. NEA says that there will be no such problem after that. Until then, supplies may be disrupted. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The industrial sector has been hit hard after load shedding started. Fuel and electricity are indispensable to the industry. Entrepreneurs say that the operation of the industry has been affected as load shedding has started and fear that industries will run at a loss or close down due to lack of energy. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Chairman of the Birgunj Chamber of Commerce and Industry Subodh Kumar Gupta said that the industry is affected by the power cut. “Now production costs will rise and the industry will be at a loss. However, we understand the problem at the moment,” he said, “The NEA should provide quality electricity as promised. Once the electricity is cut off, our production costs automatically increase. He said that the raw material in the machine does not work when the power is cut.” He said that the industries will prepare accordingly if the electricity is provided as promised. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Chairman of the Cement Manufacturers’ Association of Nepal Dhruba Thapa said that the cement industry would be more affected by load shedding. More electricity is needed to run cement and iron rod industries. Therefore, such industries have been hit hardest by load shedding, he said. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">“If the situation returns to normal within a short period of time, then the industry can run smoothly. If the problem continues, the industry may have to shut down,” he said, “Running an industry with diesel during such an inflationary period is really difficult, but there’s no other solution. We are really worried right now.” </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">He demanded that the government should give as much as it can to the industry even after cutting the electricity for household purposes. “It would have been better if the government had cut off domestic electricity and given it to us,” he said, “But the government does not seem interested in running the industry. Now when the industry is affected, it has a negative impact on the overall economy. The government needs to understand that.” </span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-04-28', 'modified' => '2022-04-29', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14926', 'image' => '20220428024306_1651100134.Clipboard17.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-04-28 14:42:29', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 14 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '15169', 'article_category_id' => '228', 'title' => 'Nepal Airlines to Operate 3 Flights a Week to Japan from May 1 ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'April 26: Nepal Airlines Corporation (NAC) has decided to operate three flights in a week to Japan’s Narita from Kathmandu starting from May 1.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">April 26: Nepal Airlines Corporation (NAC) has decided to operate three flights in a week to Japan’s Narita from Kathmandu starting from May 1. At present, the flag carrier of Nepal has been operating two flights a week to Narita. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The NAC will be operating the flights on Sundays, Tuesdays and Fridays, informed Karishma Shrestha, former spokesperson of NAC. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The state-owned airline company of Nepal said in a statement that the flights conducted on Sundays and Tuesdays will carry 140 passengers while there will be only 120 passengers on Fridays.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The statement added that passengers' demand was growing due to the subsided rate imposed in the wake of COVID-19. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The airfare for Kathmandu-Narita round-trip is Rs 152,000 including tax in business class and Rs 119,000 in economy class. </span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-04-26', 'modified' => '2022-04-26', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14912', 'image' => '20220426105932_NAC.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-04-26 10:58:55', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ) ) $current_user = null $logged_in = false $xml = falseinclude - APP/View/Elements/side_bar.ctp, line 133 View::_evaluate() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 971 View::_render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 933 View::_renderElement() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 1224 View::element() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 418 include - APP/View/Articles/index.ctp, line 157 View::_evaluate() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 971 View::_render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 933 View::render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 473 Controller::render() - CORE/Cake/Controller/Controller.php, line 968 Dispatcher::_invoke() - CORE/Cake/Routing/Dispatcher.php, line 200 Dispatcher::dispatch() - CORE/Cake/Routing/Dispatcher.php, line 167 [main] - APP/webroot/index.php, line 117
Warning (2): simplexml_load_file() [<a href='http://php.net/function.simplexml-load-file'>function.simplexml-load-file</a>]: I/O warning : failed to load external entity "" [APP/View/Elements/side_bar.ctp, line 133]file not found!Code Context// $file = 'http://aabhiyan:QUVLg8Wzs2F7G9N7@nepalstock.com.np/api/subindexdata.xml';if(!$xml = simplexml_load_file($file)){$viewFile = '/var/www/html/newbusinessage.com/app/View/Elements/side_bar.ctp' $dataForView = array( 'articles' => array( (int) 0 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 1 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 2 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 3 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 4 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 5 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 6 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 7 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 8 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 9 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 10 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 11 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 12 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 13 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ), (int) 14 => array( 'Article' => array( [maximum depth reached] ) ) ), 'current_user' => null, 'logged_in' => false ) $articles = array( (int) 0 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '21772', 'article_category_id' => '228', 'title' => 'Air Dynasty Helicopter Crashes in Shivapuri, Killing Five', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'KATHMANDU, August 7: An Air Dynasty helicopter crashed in the Shivapuri area of Nuwakot district this afternoon (Wednesday), killing five people on board.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">KATHMANDU, August 7: An Air Dynasty helicopter crashed in the Shivapuri area of Nuwakot district this afternoon (Wednesday), killing five people on board.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Tribhuvan International Airport's General Manager, Jagannath Niraula, confirmed the crash.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Locals, suspecting an accident, informed the police after noticing flames and smoke over Suryachaur in the Shivapuri forest area, located in Shivapuri Rural Municipality-7, Nuwakot, according to Assistant Chief District Officer Krishna Prasad Humagain.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The police confirmed that four men and one woman were among the deceased.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Superintendent of Police (SP) Shantiraj Koirala from the District Police Office, Nuwakot, stated that the helicopter crashed in the Suryachaur area of Shivapuri Forest.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">"Some security personnel and locals have already reached the crash site and are currently working to extinguish the fire," informed SP Koirala.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Further details on the accident are awaited. -- RSS</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-08-07', 'modified' => '2024-08-07', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '21501', 'image' => '20240807042654_IMG-20240807-WA0005.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-08-07 16:17:06', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 1 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '21739', 'article_category_id' => '228', 'title' => 'KU to Offer Bachelor’s Degree Course in Aviation Management', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'KAVRE, August 5: Kathmandu University (KU) is all set to launch a Bachelor’s degree course in Aviation Management. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">KAVRE, August 5: Kathmandu University (KU) is all set to launch a Bachelor’s degree course in Aviation Management. The KU School of Management is introducing this course in collaboration with Simrik Venture and Siddhartha Banasthali School, marking it as the first of its kind in Nepal.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The program will enroll 33 students in its inaugural year. The four-year curriculum is designed to equip students with knowledge and skills in aviation operations and the effective management of airlines and airports, according to Simrik Venture Chairman Rameshwor Thapa.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The course content will cover a range of topics, including aviation laws, aviation security, airport planning and management, aviation marketing, airline operations, aviation economics, the importance of tourism, and human resource management.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">“These courses will provide practical training in managing aviation activities,” Thapa stated.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">KU Vice Chancellor Dr Bhola Thapa highlighted that the program aims to produce skilled professionals in the aviation sector. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">“This is the first initiative of its kind in Nepal. We are confident in our ability to develop skilled human resources in this field,” Dr Thapa added. -- RSS</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-08-05', 'modified' => '2024-08-05', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '21465', 'image' => '20240805113534_aaaaa.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-08-05 11:34:51', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 2 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '21709', 'article_category_id' => '228', 'title' => 'Saurya Airlines Crash Causes Fear Among Residents Near Airport', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'KATHMANDU, August 1: Manodhari Mainali, an 86-year-old resident of Kandaghari, witnessed the Saurya Airlines plane crash and burst into flames before her eyes as it tried to take off from the airport in Kathmandu. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">KATHMANDU, August 1: Manodhari Mainali, an 86-year-old resident of Kandaghari, witnessed the Saurya Airlines plane crash and burst into flames before her eyes as it tried to take off from the airport in Kathmandu. Since then, she has been afraid to stay at home. Mainali, who used to enjoy watching planes take off from the airport from her roof, no longer finds any pleasure in it after the crash at Tribhuvan International Airport on July 24.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">"I won't live long, but because our home is near the airport, every day is fear for my son and grandson," Mainali said, adding, "We should have built a house far from the airport."</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">On the fateful day on July 24, 18 out of 19 people on board the ill-fated aircraft died in the crash. The captain was the sole survivor as he was thrown from the aircraft due to the impact. Government officials have stated that if the crashed plane had not hit a parked container, it could have reached the nearby settlement and hit houses.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Seeing this potential danger, Govinda Pandey of Medical Chowk in Kandaghari is afraid to send his granddaughter to a school near the airport. "After the incident, I have considered changing my granddaughter's school," he told New Business Age.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Ajay Shrestha, a businessman in Ward No. 9, Khare of Kageshwari Manohara Municipality, has a petrol pump near Tribhuvan International Airport. "This incident has saddened us," he told New Business Age. "The business that has been operating for 12 years cannot be relocated immediately."</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">In the past 12 years, there have been three major plane crashes in and near Tribhuvan International Airport. In September 2012, a Sita Air plane crashed near the airport, killing 19 people. On March 12, 2018, 51 people died in a US-Bangla plane crash inside the airport. On July 24, 2024, 18 people died in a Saurya Airlines plane crash.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">According to international standards, airports should be located away from settlements. In developed countries, there are examples of airports being relocated due to growing settlements around them.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Hong Kong moved its international airport in 1998 after the construction of high-rise buildings around the airport made it difficult for planes to take off and land. The international airport, previously located at Kai Tak, was moved to Chek Lap Kok, an island surrounded by the sea. Kansai International Airport in Japan is built in the sea.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">"In developed countries, it is customary to build airports far from settlements to avoid crashes into human settlements," said Deputy Director General of the Civila Aviation Authority of Nepal, Hansraj Pandey.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> "At the international level, noise from flights and landings should not disturb residents. This is the first condition, so airports should be far from settlements. Secondly, airports have their standards."</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Man-made structures grow as soon as settlements expand. Pandey said that the distance of such structures from the airport is determined by the Obstacle Limitation Surface (OLS). OLS is the imaginary airspace around the airport that describes the height and location of obstacles for safe landings. Once determined, the safety and operational efficiency of aircraft will increase.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">"In the past, Tribhuvan International Airport was fine, but now, as settlements increase, the airport is in the middle of dense settlements," said Pandey. "Now there is a challenge to comply with OLS standards."</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The airport must follow the OLS height criteria, and the CAAN says there will be no compromise on this. However, in the case of houses and buildings, Pandey said that houses up to four floors do not affect aircraft landings, but higher buildings will cause problems.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">"According to our rules and international standards, the 4 km area around the airport is considered sensitive, and any accident within this area falls within the airport's rescue area," said Pandey. "It is estimated that an accident can happen anywhere within 4 km, and flight and landing routes are considered more risky."</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">According to the authorities, the takeoff and landing of aircraft are very risky. On July 24, the Saurya Airlines plane had an accident soon after takeoff. The US-Bangla aircraft had an accident during landing.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">The airport office has already made a plan for accidents and immediate rescue within this 4 km area and along flight and landing routes. As soon as an accident occurs within this area, the airport takes over the responsibility for rescue work, Pandey said.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Civil Aviation Regulations, 2058 stipulate that no one shall open slaughterhouses within 3 km of the airport area and no one shall openly pile and throw garbage in a way that contaminates the environment. With slaughterhouses near the airport, there is a possibility of birds flying and hitting planes, causing accidents.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">According to Pandey, the Yeti Airlines plane crash also occurred in Pokhara on January 15, 2023 near the airport.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">That is why areas such as Bouddha and Imadol are considered very sensitive as the aircraft travel take this route when flying and landing at Tribhuvan International Airport. However, settlements have rapidly developed in those areas. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Pandey of Kandaghari said that the government needs to decide whether to evacuate the dangerous areas or move the airport to a safer location. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">According to CAAN Spokesperson Pandey, the Saurya Airlines flight could have ended up in the settlement in Bauddha. However, the plane did not reach the settlement because it hit a container inside the airport while flying from Koteshwar, he said, adding that the Gothatar area was spared from a major incident.</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-08-01', 'modified' => '2024-08-01', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '21435', 'image' => '20240801011257_20240724070148_unnamed.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-08-01 13:12:18', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 3 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '21658', 'article_category_id' => '228', 'title' => 'Saurya Airlines Plane Crash: 17 Bodies Handed Over to Relatives ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'KATHMANDU, July 27: Relatives of 17 people who died in Saurya Airlines plane crash last Wednesday have received bodies after postmortem. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">KATHMANDU, July 27: Relatives of 17 people who died in Saurya Airlines plane crash last Wednesday have received bodies after postmortem. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Out of 18 people who died in the crash, 17 bodies were handed over to their relatives as of Saturday evening, said spokesperson for the Nepal Police, Deputy Inspector General Dan Bahadur Karki. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">He added that a body of the foreign national would be sent back following the due process. The relatives of the deceased received the bodies on Friday and Saturday after postmortem at Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Of the 19 passenger including crew members, 18 died when the plane of Saurya Airlines met with the accident on the premises of the Tribhuvan International Airport on July 24. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Captain Manish Ratna Shakya was the sole survivor of the crash. -- RSS</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-07-28', 'modified' => '2024-07-28', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '21384', 'image' => '20240728111735_20240724013038_80581170.jpeg', 'article_date' => '2024-07-28 11:17:01', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 4 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '21643', 'article_category_id' => '228', 'title' => 'Domestic Airliners See Drop in Passenger Volume after Saurya Airlines Crash', 'sub_title' => 'A total of 178 domestic flights landed and took off at the TIA on Wednesday, down from 225 to 250 flights normally, according to the TIA Office', 'summary' => '', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">NewBiz Report<br /> KATHMANDU, July 25</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">Nepal’s domestic air carriers have witnessed a reduction in passenger volume following the Saurya Airlines crash on Wednesday.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">While Buddha Air, Nepal’s biggest domestic carrier, has seen around 10% reduction in passenger volume since Wednesday afternoon, around 20% people canceled their Yeti Airlines flight, representatives of domestic airlines, said.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">Rupesh Joshi, director of Marketing, Sales and Ground Handling Department at Buddha Air, said Buddha has not witnessed any flight cancellation so far but the passenger volume has dropped by 5 to 10% since Wednesday afternoon.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">“It is natural that the fear factor affects the passenger movement after a plane crash,” said Joshi. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">Sudarshan Bartaula, spokesperson for Yeti Airlines, echoed Joshi regarding the fear factor. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">“Yeti saw cancellation of flights by around 15% to 20% after the plane crash on Wednesday,” Bartaula told New Business Age over the phone. “The flight bookings have dropped today (Thursday).”</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">He said that it might take a few more days for the resumption of regular passenger flow.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">In 2023, 266 domestic flights, on average, took off and landed daily at the Tribhuvan International Airport, according to the TIA office of the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN).</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">“Normally 225 to 250 domestic flights land and take off at the TIA,” said Subhash Jha, spokesperson at the TIA . “However, only 178 flights landed and took off on Wednesday.”</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">Following the crash, flights were halted for some hours which also contributed to the decline in overall flights.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">Though the domestic carriers of Nepal, including planes and helicopters, had flown a record 4.46 million passengers in 2022, the number dropped to 4.15 million in 2023, according to CAAN’s statistics. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">Buddha Air recorded the highest passenger movement last year, flying 2.57 million passengers. Yeti Airlines came second in the list with 717,030 passengers, followed by Shree Airlines with 605,338 passengers.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">Similarly, Saurya Airlines had carried 122,571 passengers last year.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">Along with a slowdown in the economy and expensive air fares, frequent air crashes have emerged as major concerns for the air travelers.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">Despite air travel being considered the safest mode of transportation, Nepal has so far recorded 108 air crashes in its aviation history, killing 959 individuals, according to CAAN.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">Pilot Manish Ratna Shakya remains the sole survivor in Wednesday’s plane crash. Shakya is being treated at the Kathmandu Medical College in Sinamangal.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">A Saurya Airlines Bombardier CRJ 200 plane with registration number 9N-AME veered off to the right and crashed on the east side of the runway, shortly after taking off from Runway 02 (Koteshwar side) at 11:11 am, CAAN said in a press statement. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">Most of the passengers on board were the staff at Saurya Airlines, headed to Pokhara for carrying out C-check of the aircraft. However, three among the deceased belonged to the same family–father, mother and their child.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">Questions have been raised about the performance of the regulator—CAAN— for allowing Saurya Airlines to accommodate the wife and child of an airline employee in the ill-fated plane carrying maintenance crew.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">The plane had caught fire in the accident leading to the death of 18 people including a Yemani national, on board. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Georgia","serif"">The bodies of the deceased were taken to the Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital at Maharajgunj, Kathmandu for autopsy. Doctors at the hospital have said that the bodies of the victims will be handed over to the relatives after identification, which might require DNA tests as some bodies have been charred beyond recognition.</span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-07-26', 'modified' => '2024-07-26', 'keywords' => 'crash, TIA, airport, airlines, plane, Nepal, aviation, CAAN, Saurya, passenger, volume', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '21369', 'image' => '20240726083236_20220630032136_airraft.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-07-26 08:31:13', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 5 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '21350', 'article_category_id' => '228', 'title' => 'Govt Forms High-Level Committee to Address Problems Faced by New International Airports', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'KATHMANDU: The government has established a high-level committee to investigate the reasons behind the failure of newly built international airports. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">KATHMANDU: The government has established a high-level committee to investigate the reasons behind the failure of newly built international airports. The committee has been mandated to recommend measures to attract commercial flights and to propose a new strategy. These airports, constructed and operated at a cost of billions of rupees, have struggled to secure regular international flights despite substantial investments.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">After decades of long wait, the Gautam Buddha International Airport was inaugurated on May 16, 2022, followed by Pokhara International Airport on January 1, 2023. To encourage international flights, the government announced a 100% discount on various fees for airlines flying from these airports for one year. However, this initiative has not succeeded in attracting regular international flights.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">To address this issue, the Ministry of Culture, Tourism, and Civil Aviation has formed a high-level committee chaired by Baburam Paudel, Director of the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal. The committee's mandate is to evaluate the situation and develop a new strategy. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Initially, the authority offered a 100% discount on landing fees, parking service fees, communication and aviation assistance fees (overfly), and security service fees for airlines operating from these two airports. Additionally, ground handling service fees were also waived. Despite these incentives, airlines showed little interest in operating from the new airports, preferring to use Tribhuvan International Airport, where the number of flights has increased.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">CAAN Spokesperson Hansraj Pandey explained that the discounts, including a $1,200 reduction per flight, did not significantly attract airlines. The preference for Tribhuvan International Airport is due to the high business volume in ticket sales, even with higher operational costs.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Recognizing the need for a new approach, the CAAN is now studying alternative strategies. The newly formed committee has met with stakeholders in Pokhara and Bhairahawa and collected suggestions on-site. They have also consulted with officials from airlines operating international flights in Nepal. The committee is expected to submit its report shortly, which will inform further actions to improve flight operations at the two airports.</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-06-24', 'modified' => '2024-06-24', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '21076', 'image' => '20240624014956_1672477237.Pokhara Airport.jpeg', 'article_date' => '2024-06-24 13:49:10', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 6 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '21052', 'article_category_id' => '228', 'title' => 'One Dead as Singapore Airlines Boeing Flight Hits Severe Turbulence ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'BANGKOK: One person was killed and 30 injured Tuesday when a Singapore Airlines Boeing 777 hit severe turbulence on a flight from London and was forced to make an emergency landing in Bangkok. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">BANGKOK: One person was killed and 30 injured Tuesday when a Singapore Airlines Boeing 777 hit severe turbulence on a flight from London and was forced to make an emergency landing in Bangkok. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Emergency vehicles raced onto the tarmac at the Thai capital's main airport with lights flashing and sirens blaring after Singapore-bound flight SQ321 touched down at 3:45 pm (0845 GMT). </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">It is the latest drama involving a Boeing plane, after a fuselage panel blew out of an Alaska Airlines 737 MAX in January as well as two fatal crashes in 2018 and 2019. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Singapore Airlines said the flight took off from London's Heathrow airport and "encountered severe turbulence en route". </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">"We can confirm that there are injuries and one fatality on board the Boeing 777-300ER. There were a total of 211 passengers and 18 crew on board," the airline said in a statement. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The carrier said "18 individuals have been hospitalised. Another 12 are being treated in hospitals," without giving details of the nature and severity of the injuries. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">"We deeply apologise for the traumatic experience that our passengers and crew members suffered on this flight. We are providing all necessary assistance during this difficult time," the airline said. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Flight tracking data suggested the plane dropped more than 1,800 metres (6,000 feet) in just five minutes over the Andaman Sea. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The incident came as parts of Thailand were buffeted by thunderstorms as the country's annual rainy season gets under way. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">"At 3:35 pm the airport received a distress call from the Singapore Airlines flight saying there were passengers on board injured by turbulence, and requesting an emergency landing," Suvarnabhumi Airport said in a statement. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">"The plane landed at the airport and the medical team was sent to treat all the injured." </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The airport statement described the dead passenger as a foreigner -- meaning a non-Thai. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Singapore's transport minister Chee Hong Tat said in a Facebook post that he was "deeply saddened" by the incident and offered his condolences to the family of the fatality. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><strong><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Boeing woes </span></strong></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">US aviation giant Boeing has been rocked by a series of problems in recent years and in March announced the departure of CEO Dave Calhoun as it faces intense scrutiny on safety and manufacturing standards. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The change in leadership came in the wake of the near-catastrophic incident in January when a fuselage panel on a Boeing 737 MAX 9 Alaska Airlines jet blew off mid-flight. Fatal crashes in Indonesia in 2018 and Ethiopia in 2019 -- which killed 346 people in total -- led to a lengthy grounding for the 737 MAX fleet worldwide. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">The company has a late May deadline to present a plan required by the US Federal Aviation Administration, which has capped MAX production until the company shows progress on safety and quality control. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">In July, the US Justice Department will make a final determination on whether to criminally prosecute Boeing. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:14.0pt">And in September, the company faces a potential strike of 30,000 workers if it is unable to reach a contract with the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers. – AFP/RSS </span></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2024-05-22', 'modified' => '2024-05-22', 'keywords' => 'Singapore, Airlines, accident, turbulence, safety', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '20781', 'image' => '20240522010030_Singapore-Airlines-Sydney-Photo-credit-to-photographer-NIGEL-COGHLAN-Singapore-Airlines-B777-300ER-at-Sydney-Airport.jpg', 'article_date' => '2024-05-22 12:59:07', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 7 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '16746', 'article_category_id' => '228', 'title' => 'Government Forms Five-member Probe Commission to Investigate Yeti Airline Plane Crash ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'The government has formed a five-member probe commission to investigate Yeti Airlines plane crash in Pokhara. ', 'content' => '<p><br /> <span style="font-size:18px">January 15: The government has formed a five-member probe commission to investigate Yeti Airlines plane crash in Pokhara. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">An emergency Cabinet meeting held at the Prime Minister’s residence in Baluawatr took the decision to this effect.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">The commission has been assigned the responsibilities to figure out the causes behind the crash and recommend suggestions to prevent similar crashes in the future.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">The probe commission headed by former Secretary Nagendra Ghimire comprises aviation experts Dipak Prakash Bastola and Sunil Thapa, and aeronautical engineer, Ekraj Jung Thapa as members. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">Joint Secretary Buddhisagar Lamichhane of the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation is the member-secretary of the commission. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">The commission has been given 45 days to submit the report. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance Bishnu Prasad Poudel said that the government will implement the suggestions as soon as the commission submits its report to it.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">A Yeti Airlines plane carrying 68 passengers had crashed in Pokhara on Sunday morning.<br /> The ATR-72 plane, which left for Pokhara from Kathmandu at 10.33 am in the morning, reportedly crashed in the Seti River gorge while making a final approach for landing.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">According to Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal, there were 68 passengers on board the plane including 60 Nepali nationals, and eight foreigners and four crew members including Captain Kamal KC and Anju Khatiwada.</span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-01-15', 'modified' => '2023-01-15', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '16487', 'image' => '20230115043129_collage (56).jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-01-15 16:20:28', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 8 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '16695', 'article_category_id' => '228', 'title' => 'Fare For Domestic Flights Drops ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => ' With a cut in the price of aviation fuel, Airlines Operators’ Association of Nepal has slashed the fare for domestic flights.', 'content' => '<p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">January 9: With a cut in the price of aviation fuel, Airlines Operators’ Association of Nepal has slashed the fare of domestic flights.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Issuing a press statement on Monday, the association slashed the price of domestic flights from Rs 100 to Rs 900 effective from January 11.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">According to the association, fare from Kathmandu to Dhangadhi has decreased by Rs 885. The maximum fare along the route is Rs 16,140. Fare in the mountain flight from Kathmandu has dropped by Rs 685. The maximum fare for the mountain flight from Kathmandu is Rs 14,205.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">As per the revised fare for the domestic flights, flights from Kathmandu to Bhadrapur, Kathmandu to Biratnagar and Kathmandu to Janakpur have become cheaper by Rs 600, Rs 485, and 260 respectively. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Likewise, Kathmandu-Bharatpur, and Kathmandu-Pokhara routes have seen a drop of Rs 320 and Rs 410 in fare respectively.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Nepal Oil Corporation had slashed the prices of petroleum products including aviation fuel effective from 12 pm Sunday night. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">NOC had cut the price of domestic aviation fuel by Rs 20 per liter. With the price adjustment, the price of domestic aviation fuel stands at Rs 170 per liter. </span></span></span></span></p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2023-01-09', 'modified' => '2023-01-09', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '16436', 'image' => '20230109053530_50126_1534486336.jpg', 'article_date' => '2023-01-09 16:26:54', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 9 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '16537', 'article_category_id' => '228', 'title' => ' Flights Affected Due to Air Hostesses’ Protest at Nepal Airlines Corporation', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'Protest by air hostesses (cabin crews) at Nepal Airlines Corportaion affected Nepal Airlines' both domestic and international flights on Thursday. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"> <br /> December 15: Protest by air hostesses (cabin crews) of Nepal Airlines Corportaion affected both domestic and international flights of the state-owned airlines company on Thursday.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">Five domestic flights scheduled for the day were disrupted due to the agitation by the air hostesses. They had staged the protest against the NAC management for not renewing contract of two air hostesses, who have been working at the corporations for the past 15 years. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px">According to the Nepal Airlines Corporation, two flights to Taplejung from Kathmandu, one to Faplu, and one to Dang and one flight to Bhojpur were disrupted.</span><br /> <span style="font-size:18px">Similarly, three international flights were affected due to the crew members’ protest. According to NAC Assistant Spokesperson Ganesh Kumar Ghimire, one scheduled flight to Saudi Arabia’s Riyadh and one flight each to India’s Bangalore and New Delhi from Tribhuvan International Airport were affected. </span><br /> <span style="font-size:18px">Flight disruption has hit hundreds of passengers hard.<br /> Air hostesses’ protest affecting regular flight has tarnished national flag carrier’s image. </span><br /> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-12-15', 'modified' => '2022-12-15', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '16278', 'image' => '20221215045628_20220517023218_Nepal-Airlines.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-12-15 16:19:13', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '42' ) ), (int) 10 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '15287', 'article_category_id' => '228', 'title' => 'PM Deuba Requests India to Provide Additional Air Routes ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'May 17: Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba has urged India to provide additional air entry routes from Mahendranagar, Nepalgunj and Janakpur. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">May 17: Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba has urged India to provide additional air entry routes from Mahendranagar, Nepalgunj and Janakpur. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">He made such request during a delegation-level talks held with his Indian counterpart, Narendra Modi in Lumbini on Monday. Prime Minister Deuba requested for additional air routes in order to facilitate connectivity and travel between the two countries during Modi’s official visit to Lumbini. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">According to Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN), the airway distance to Nepal from India and beyond will be shorter from these new routes.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Nepal has been pressing India since a long time to open new air entry routes with the view of facilitating flights to and from the Gautam Buddha International Airport, which came into operation on May 16, as well as the under-construction Pokhara Regional International Airport and the proposed Nijgadh International Airport.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">On June 15, 2018, India had agreed to allow new air entry routes to Nepal for international flights. The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) and Airports Authority of India (AAI) had signed a bilateral agreement on international air route to Nepal back then to allow international flights to enter Nepal through Janakpur and Biratnagar entry points.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Prior to this, international flights from India could enter Nepal's air space only from Simara.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Although India had in principle agreed to allow Nepal to use the air entry routes of Janakpur, Biratnagar, Bhairahawa Nepalgunj and Mahendranagar, India has allowed Nepal to use only Bhairahawa and Janakpur entry routes.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Officials at the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) say that India denied permission to use the other air routes citing security concerns.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">All aircraft entering Nepal through India have to use the route near Simara. However, the aircraft leaving Nepal can use Mahendranagar, Nepalgunj, Bhairahawa and Janakpur routes.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">According to officials, using the Mahendranagar and Nepalgunj routes to enter Nepal would lessen the distance by 14 nautical miles.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Nepal and India have held several rounds of discussions to open air entry routes from Mahendranagar and Nepalgunj. However, the two countries are yet to reach an understanding in this regard.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">The two countries had decided to conduct a feasibility study to allow air entry routes to Nepal from Mahendranagar and Nepalgunj. However, due to India’s reluctance, the work has not yet been able to progress. An official of CAAN had informed New Business Age during an interview in 2019 that India is reluctant to grant permission along these two routes citing security concerns.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Former Prime Minister KP Oli had also discussed the issue with his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi during his visit to India but there has been no further development.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif"">Although the political actors of India have not rejected the proposal of Nepal to use the two air routes, which is shorter than the other route in use, India’s bureaucracy has been reportedly delaying the process, according to officials at the tourism ministry.</span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-05-17', 'modified' => '2022-05-17', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '15029', 'image' => '20220517023218_Nepal-Airlines.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-05-17 14:31:35', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 11 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '15279', 'article_category_id' => '228', 'title' => 'Gautam Buddha International Officially Inaugurated ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'May 16: Bhairahawa-based Gautam Buddha International Airport has been officially inaugurated today (Monday). ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">May 16: Bhairahawa-based Gautam Buddha International Airport has been officially inaugurated today (Monday). Nepal Airlines Corporation (NAC)'s narrow-body Airbus A-320 and Jazeera Airway’s aircraft from Kuwait landed at the airport today morning.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">According to the airport office, the first flight of Nepal Airlines Corporation landed at 6:55 am, and the Jazeera Airway flight landed at 7:08 am. The NAC operated commercial flights from Kathmandu. Likewise, Jazeera's aircraft landed at GBIA from Doha via Kuwait.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">This has opened the door for commercial flights from Nepal’s second international airport after Tribhuvan International Airport.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) informed that commercial flight from Gautam Buddha International Airport will take place on a regular basis from June 12.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The operation of Gautam Buddha International Airport is believed to reduce the air traffic congestion at TIA and is also expected to promote religious tourism due to its proximity to Lumbini, a pilgrimage site of Buddhists from all over the world.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-05-16', 'modified' => '2022-05-16', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '15021', 'image' => '20220516125900_1652665732.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-05-16 12:58:12', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 12 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '15235', 'article_category_id' => '228', 'title' => 'Domestic Flights to Remain Closed on Election Day', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'May 9: The Airlines Operators Association of Nepal (AOAN) on Sunday informed that domestic flights will remain closed on May 13 considering the shutdown of all kinds of transportation services on the day of local election. ', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">May 9: The Airlines Operators Association of Nepal (AOAN) on Sunday informed that domestic flights will remain closed on May 13 considering the shutdown of all kinds of transportation services on the day of local election. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">Issuing a press statement on Sunday, the association's spokesperson Yograj Kandel said flights for humanitarian rescue and flights conducted at the instruction of the government will be operated in line with the Standard Related to Vehicular Movement Management, 2022. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">"It is notified that air services for domestic flights by airline companies associated with the association will be closed on May 13, 2022," reads the statement. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The association also apologized for the inconvenience caused to the passengers. </span></span></span><br /> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-05-09', 'modified' => '2022-05-09', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14976', 'image' => '20220509081511_20220405110412_Simokot-Airport-in-Humla.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-05-09 08:13:03', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 13 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '15184', 'article_category_id' => '228', 'title' => 'Load Shedding Returns after 4 Years ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'April 28: Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) has formally started load shedding in the industrial sector after it failed to import electricity from India.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">April 28: Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) has formally started load shedding in the industrial sector after it failed to import electricity from India. NEA has started power cuts in the industrial sector by issuing a prior notice on Wednesday. NEA had been cutting power in the industrial sector without any notice after the shortage started during this dry season. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">NEA informed that there will be power cuts in the industrial area for 48 hours effective from 10 am Wednesday. There will be power cuts at different times during this period. According to the NEA, there will be a 12-hour daily power cut in some industries and up to 16 hours in others. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Load shedding has re-started after 4 years in Nepal. Load shedding, which was prevalent for 15 years, had ended on May 14, 2018. NEA, which is supplying electricity from India, has informed that the problem has arisen as it has not been able to buy electricity from India. During the dry season, Nepal produces less electricity. At this time, electricity has to be imported from India to meet the domestic demand. But, the power generation in India itself has declined recently. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">India has a large share of electricity generated from coal. Recently, the Russia-Ukraine tensions have led to a shortage of coal around the world. This has affected India's power generation. At present, there is load shedding for up to 8 hours daily in India. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">NEA's executive director Kulman Ghising said that the power cuts have started in the industrial sector as there isn’t enough electricity supply from India. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">“There was some problem in the supply due to the unavailability of electricity from India through the bidding process. Therefore, we have started cutting electricity in the industrial sector by giving advanced notice,” he told New Business Age, “The situation will be normal if we can buy electricity from India. Otherwise there may be a problem in the electricity supply for some time.” </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">NEA is currently providing electricity to household customers 24 hours a day. Spokesperson of NEA Suresh Bhattarai says that only the power supply of the industrial sector has been cut off. He said that NEA is making efforts to ease the power supply. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Nepal will generate more electricity than it needs from June. NEA says that there will be no such problem after that. Until then, supplies may be disrupted. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The industrial sector has been hit hard after load shedding started. Fuel and electricity are indispensable to the industry. Entrepreneurs say that the operation of the industry has been affected as load shedding has started and fear that industries will run at a loss or close down due to lack of energy. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Chairman of the Birgunj Chamber of Commerce and Industry Subodh Kumar Gupta said that the industry is affected by the power cut. “Now production costs will rise and the industry will be at a loss. However, we understand the problem at the moment,” he said, “The NEA should provide quality electricity as promised. Once the electricity is cut off, our production costs automatically increase. He said that the raw material in the machine does not work when the power is cut.” He said that the industries will prepare accordingly if the electricity is provided as promised. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Chairman of the Cement Manufacturers’ Association of Nepal Dhruba Thapa said that the cement industry would be more affected by load shedding. More electricity is needed to run cement and iron rod industries. Therefore, such industries have been hit hardest by load shedding, he said. </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">“If the situation returns to normal within a short period of time, then the industry can run smoothly. If the problem continues, the industry may have to shut down,” he said, “Running an industry with diesel during such an inflationary period is really difficult, but there’s no other solution. We are really worried right now.” </span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-size:15.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">He demanded that the government should give as much as it can to the industry even after cutting the electricity for household purposes. “It would have been better if the government had cut off domestic electricity and given it to us,” he said, “But the government does not seem interested in running the industry. Now when the industry is affected, it has a negative impact on the overall economy. The government needs to understand that.” </span></span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-04-28', 'modified' => '2022-04-29', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14926', 'image' => '20220428024306_1651100134.Clipboard17.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-04-28 14:42:29', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ), (int) 14 => array( 'Article' => array( 'id' => '15169', 'article_category_id' => '228', 'title' => 'Nepal Airlines to Operate 3 Flights a Week to Japan from May 1 ', 'sub_title' => '', 'summary' => 'April 26: Nepal Airlines Corporation (NAC) has decided to operate three flights in a week to Japan’s Narita from Kathmandu starting from May 1.', 'content' => '<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">April 26: Nepal Airlines Corporation (NAC) has decided to operate three flights in a week to Japan’s Narita from Kathmandu starting from May 1. At present, the flag carrier of Nepal has been operating two flights a week to Narita. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The NAC will be operating the flights on Sundays, Tuesdays and Fridays, informed Karishma Shrestha, former spokesperson of NAC. </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The state-owned airline company of Nepal said in a statement that the flights conducted on Sundays and Tuesdays will carry 140 passengers while there will be only 120 passengers on Fridays.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,"sans-serif""><span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The statement added that passengers' demand was growing due to the subsided rate imposed in the wake of COVID-19. </span><br /> <span style="font-family:"Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"">The airfare for Kathmandu-Narita round-trip is Rs 152,000 including tax in business class and Rs 119,000 in economy class. </span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ', 'published' => true, 'created' => '2022-04-26', 'modified' => '2022-04-26', 'keywords' => '', 'description' => '', 'sortorder' => '14912', 'image' => '20220426105932_NAC.jpg', 'article_date' => '2022-04-26 10:58:55', 'homepage' => false, 'breaking_news' => false, 'main_news' => true, 'in_scroller' => false, 'user_id' => '34' ) ) ) $current_user = null $logged_in = false $xml = falsesimplexml_load_file - [internal], line ?? include - APP/View/Elements/side_bar.ctp, line 133 View::_evaluate() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 971 View::_render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 933 View::_renderElement() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 1224 View::element() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 418 include - APP/View/Articles/index.ctp, line 157 View::_evaluate() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 971 View::_render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 933 View::render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 473 Controller::render() - CORE/Cake/Controller/Controller.php, line 968 Dispatcher::_invoke() - CORE/Cake/Routing/Dispatcher.php, line 200 Dispatcher::dispatch() - CORE/Cake/Routing/Dispatcher.php, line 167 [main] - APP/webroot/index.php, line 117
| Currency | Unit |
Buy | Sell |
| U.S. Dollar | 1 | 121.23 | 121.83 |
| European Euro | 1 | 131.65 | 132.31 |
| UK Pound Sterling | 1 | 142.47 | 143.18 |
| Swiss Franc | 1 | 124.29 | 124.90 |
| Australian Dollar | 1 | 71.69 | 72.05 |
| Canadian Dollar | 1 | 83.90 | 84.32 |
| Japanese Yen | 10 | 10.94 | 11.00 |
| Chinese Yuan | 1 | 17.17 | 17.26 |
| Saudi Arabian Riyal | 1 | 32.27 | 32.43 |
| UAE Dirham | 1 | 33.01 | 33.17 |
| Malaysian Ringgit | 1 | 27.36 | 27.50 |
| South Korean Won | 100 | 9.77 | 9.82 |
Update: 2020-03-25 | Source: Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB)
| Fine Gold | 1 tola | 77000.00 |
| Tejabi Gold | 1 tola | 76700.00 |
| Silver | 1 tola | 720.00 |
Update : 2020-03-25
Source: Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers' Association
| Petrol | 1 Liter | 106.00 |
| Diesel | 1 Liter | 95.00 |
| Kerosene | 1 Liter | 95.00 |
| LP Gas | 1 Cylinder | 1375.00 |
Update : 2020-03-25
