Tara Air successfully completes demo flight at Resunga Airport

KATHMANDU, Jan 08: Tara Air's proving flight has been successfully completed at Resunga Airport in collaboration with Resunga Municipality of Gulmi.

9N ALO TwinOtter-400 aircraft of Tara Air took off from Tribhuvan International Airport at 11:14 am on Sunday morning and landed at Resunga Airport built at Resunga Municipality-10 in Simichour, Gulmi.

Earlier Tara Air had conducted a test flight on 8th June 2018. Tara Air spokesperson Sudarshan Bartaula said that the aircraft was piloted by the senior pilots of Tara Air, Captain Santosh Kumar Shah and Captain Sanjiv Shrestha.

According to spokesperson Bartaula said, on the aircraft were elected MP Chandra Bhandari from Gulmi District, UML Deputy Secretary General Pradeep Gyawali, Provincial Assembly Member Dhanendra Bahadur Karki, CPN (United Socialist) Party Secretary Ram Kumari Jhakri, political personalities including Resunga Municipality Chief Khildhoj Panthi and officials of Tara Air and Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal.

According to spokesperson Sudarshan Bartaula, after the completion of the proving flight on Sunday, the process of regular flight will be started. For regular flights, it will take at least 2 to 3 weeks.

Initially, Tara Air will fly to this airport in coordination with Resunga Municipality. As there is no incentive from the state to the airlines flying to the remote areas, flights to these areas have always been irregular.

Due to the high cost of air fuel, lack of two-way passengers, the situation of having to return before reaching the destination due to rapid weather changes, and the absence of any kind of concession from the government, flights in these areas have become more expensive, which has put a financial burden on both the passengers and the airlines.

Some airports built in remote areas are also not fully equipped with physical infrastructure. Due to the lack of necessary navigation equipment, passenger terminal building and fences in the airport, the security risk has increased, while there is no modern equipment to inform the weather of the airport and in-route, there is a situation of having to fly risky due to the lack of sufficient information for the flight.

It is said that if the state does not make a short-term and long-term plan to regularize flights in remote areas, flights in these areas will be closed forever.