Four airlines seek int'l license

DINESH KARKI

KATHMANDU, Feb 23: Four airlines have applied at the Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation to operate international flights. Two domestic airlines -- Buddha Air and Shree Airlines -- and two new players -- Unity Airlines and Dynamic Airlines -- have applied for the license to fly to international destinations.

Birendra Kumar Singh, under secretary at MoTCA, told myrepublica.com that the ministry would take decision on awarding license after studying the proposals submitted by the airlines.
After getting license from the ministry, the airlines need to apply for Airlines Operation Certificate (AOC) at Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal, the aviation regulator, before starting their operation.

Among the new applicants, Buddha Air, one of the leading domestic airlines, is preparing to start flights to different Indian cities with focus on pilgrimage tourism.

According to MoTCA officials, the airline plans to fly on Pokhara-Lucknow and Biratnangar-Varanasi sectors. Likewise, Shree Airlines has submitted application for license to operate chartered helicopter services in the South Asia region.

Banwarilal Mittal, president of Shree Airlines, said the company plans to immediately start chartered chopper services to Bhutan. “We want to tap UN activities in the region through our chartered chopper services,” he added. He also said the airline also had plans to fly to Kailash Mansarobar area in Tibet.

Dynamic Airlines has plans to operate flights to 11 destinations, including Doha, Dubai, Malaysia, New Delhi, Karachi and Dhaka from Kathmandu.

Om G Prakash, chairman of the airline, said they had already entered into an agreement with Saudi British International Group for jointly looking after the management of the new venture.

“We will begin with daily flights on Kathmandu-Gaya sector by Turbo Prop 72 ATR aircraft. We have plans to operate Boeing 737-800 aircraft from September, 2010,” he added.

According to MoTCA, domestic airlines with five years of commercial experience and a fleet of at least three aircraft are eligible to apply for international flights. The new airlines, however, need to have paid-up capital of Rs 500 million and security bond of Rs 5 million.


Published on 2010-02-23 22:00:02