Nepal – China sign revised air services agreement
Travel BizNews —————
Kathmandu: Nepal and China signed a Memorandum of Understanding ( MoU) on bilateral air services agreement ( ASA ) here after two days of talks on new air route and flight schedules.
As per the revised agreement, Nepal and China can operate a total of 56 regular flights per week with any types of aircraft on a reciprocal basis. Direct flights between the two countries will be increased to 63 flights a week by 2015 and 70 flights a week in 2016.
Cargo flights between the two countries would be unlimited as per the agreement. The agreement has also opened a way for code sharing arrangement between the airlines of Nepal and China.
China also agreed to provide Nepal with necessary support to promote its aviation sector including infrastructure, logistics and training.
According to a statement released by Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation, China has agreed to add one destination, Xian city in northwest China, for Nepali airlines.
Chinese airlines could operate flights to two new destinations in Nepal besides Kathmandu .
Nepali carriers are allowed to run direct flights to seven Chinese destinations including Lhasa, Beijing, Kunming, Guangzhou, Shanghai, Chengdu and Xian.
At present, three Chinese airlines including Air China, China Southern and China Eastern are operating direct flights to Kathmandu’s Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA).
The revised agreement on bilateral air services was signed by Sushil Ghimire, secretary of Nepal’s Ministry for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation (MoCTCA) and Xia Xinghua, deputy administrator of Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) here on February 24, 2014.
After Nepal and China first signed the ASA in 2003, Air China opened its direct flight operation to Kathmandu in 2004.
Feb. 25, 2014
