NAC will handle ground handling of all three international airports

The commercial ground handling service of all three international airports, including the Pokhara Regional International Airport, will be provided by the national flag carrier Nepal Airlines.

After the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) decided to cancel the self-ground handling service provided by Himalaya at Tribhuvan International Airport, the ground handling service of Pokhara Airport has also opened for the NAC. CAAN's meeting on January 4 had decided to cancel the self-ground handling service that Himalaya had received two years ago.

According to CAAN spokesperson Gyanendra Bhul, this decision will help the national flag carrier. Now the corporation will provide commercial ground handling services at all the three international airports. Earlier, the corporation handled the ground handling of Tribhuvan International Airport and Gautam Buddha International Airport.

Considering the current financial situation of the CAAN, the state has the responsibility to protect the national flag carrier, and therefore the self-ground handling permit obtained by the private airline Himalaya Airlines has been revoked and a nationalist decision has been taken in favor of the NAC.

By saying that there is a danger of losing 20 percent of the corporation's income when Himalaya is allowed to self-handle, CAAN has mentioned that the previous decision will not affect the corporation's previous income.

According to CAAN, it was decided to cancel Himalaya's permission after Himalaya failed to purchase ground equipment and operate the service within one year of receiving the permission.

Pokhara International Airport has been operational since December 17. Buddha Air and Yeti Airlines successfully completed a demo flight at the airport on Thursday.

According to Section 4 of the Aircraft Ground Management and Other Ground Handling Service Operation Guideline, 2072, Himalaya Airlines got this permission on 20th September 2020, according to the rule that international airlines operating more than 35 regular flights a week are entitled to self-handling.