India to open three new air routes to Nepal
TravelBizNews —
Kathmandu: India has agreed to open three new air routes to Nepal for the operation of international flights.
A joint meeting of the 16 officials of Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) and Airports Authority of India (AAI) held here agreed to develop new cross-border air routes from Janakpur, Biratnagar and Mahendranagar of Nepal.
Both the countries agreed to make the Kathmandu-Biratnagar , Kathmandu- Janakpur and Janakpur-Patna air route two way .
International flights to Nepal can now enter from Janakpur and Biratnagar on the basis of flight security evaluation carried out by both sides. Currently, the only air entry point to Nepal from south was Simara.
Similarly, Kathmandu-Mahendranagar-Delhi air route would be made two-way for aircraft flying in lower altitude, according to a statement issued by CAAN.
International aircrafts flying at high altitude from proposed international airports — Gautam Buddha Int. Airport , Pokhara and Nijgadh International Airports – would be provided entry points from Nepalgunj and Mahendranagar from the western side. The detailed technical evaluation would be carried out by September 2018, according to the statement.
Both the countries had agreed to hold technical discussions between concerned authorities regarding new cross- border air routes on December 20-21, 2016.
Talks were carried out between the two countries on technical aspects in line with the joint statement issued to this effect on May 12, 2018 by the Prime Ministers of both countries.
The two Prime Ministers – KP Oli and Narendra Modi -directed the respective officials to expand cooperation in civil aviation sector, including early technical discussion on additional air entry routes to Nepal by respective technical teams in May this year.
June 16 , 2018
Image : CAAN
