April 6: With the onset of the trekking and mountain expedition season, there has been a significant increase in the number of flights targeting Mount Everest, which is the main destination for trekkers.

After the coronavirus pandemic largely subsided, three airlines providing service to remote areas have made Ramechhap Airport as their base.

The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal has issued instructions to use Ramechhap Airport as the main base for making flights to Lukla Airport, where the flow of tourists is certain to increase in the peak season.

Accordingly, Sita Air, Summit Airlines and Tara Air, which are currently flying to remote areas, have started flights to Ramechhap as their base. Buddha Air, Yeti Airlines and Shree Airlines, which fly to urban destinations, have also increased mountain flights.

Sarita Pandey, Air Traffic Controller of Ramechhap Airport, said that for the first time after the coronavirus pandemic, there have been many flights from this airport. She informed that there were a total of 407 movements (flight/landing) from the three airline companies between April 1 and 5. She said that the CAAN has established Ramechhap as the base to fly to Lukla, the flights from there have increased since the beginning of April.

Ghanshyam Raj Acharya, senior general manager of Sita Air, said that the business has improved compared to the Covid-19 period

As the tourist season has started, there is a pressure on the flights to Lukla, he said, adding "There are not enough flights from Kathmandu at this time. Because of this, flights have been arranged from Ramechhap Airport to Lukla this season.”

An official of the Airline Operators Association of Nepal said that the bookings have increased by 50 percent compared to the normal situation.

"Looking at the situation so far, it seems that the arrival of tourists will increase," he said.

After the start of the spring season, more mountaineers come to climb Mount Everest. Due to this, the traffic of tourists on this route will increase. The Department of Tourism has given permission to 304 people from 40 countries for mountain climbing as of Wednesday. Most of the permits have been issued for climbing Mount Everest. According to the department, 115 people have received permits to climb Mount Everest as of Wednesday.