Date:04/02/2005 URL: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2005/02/04/stories/2005020403710100.htm

Back Nepal air connectivity restored; tourism hit

Ashwini Phadnis

New Delhi , Feb. 3

WHILE air connectivity between India and Nepal returned to normalcy today with Indian Airlines, Jet and Sahara restarting operations, the recent incidents there have affected tourism significantly.

Officials of the various airlines operating on the route told Business Line that several passengers who had booked their tickets did not take the flight. There were less than 75 passengers on the Delhi-Kathmandu flights operated by the three airlines today, well below the total capacity of 400-plus passengers who could have been accommodated on these flights.

Interestingly, on the day the Nepalese Government was dismissed, some of the flights between India and Nepal were overbooked, sources said.

But the return flights from Kathmandu are reporting heavy passenger loads with the Air Sahara flight alone carrying more than 90 passengers.

Indian Airlines, Jet Airways and Air Sahara, apart from the two Nepalese airlines, Royal Nepal Airlines and Cosmic Airlines, operate daily flights to Kathmandu from Delhi. In addition, IA also operates flights from Varanasi and Kolkata to Kathmandu.

While IA restarted its regular operations to Nepal yesterday, the two Indian private sector airlines restarted operations only today.

Commenting on the impact of the Nepal developments on tourism, a spokesman for tour operator SOTC said that the company had received many cancellations from tourists planning to go to Nepal.

Instead, they were now preferring Himachal Pradesh, Uttaranchal, Kerala, Goa and Srinagar, the spokesman added.

Confirming these developments, the Chairman of another tour company, STIC India, Mr Subhash Goyal, felt that after the recent disturbances, there had been about 10 per cent cancellations while another 20 per cent or so were likely to follow a wait-and-watch policy.