Monday, September 30, 2019

Nepal and Australia sign air service agreement

Nepal has signed air service agreement (ASA) with Australia to operate direct flight service making it the 40th international country for Nepal having such ASA.
With the signing of Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on air service at the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) headquarters in Montreal of Canada, Nepali aircraft are allowed to operate flights different destinations of Australia, according to the Tourism Ministry press note.
The air service agreement with Australia was signed by joint secretary at the Tourism Ministry Suresh Acharya and executive director of the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Cities and Regional Development Jim Wolfe. “With the signing of agreement, now airline companies of both countries can operate seven flights a week,” according to the agreement. “Nepali airline companies have received permission to fly to four Australian cities including Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra and Perth to operate seven flights a week, while flights to airports located in other cities are unlimited.”
Likewise, Australian airline companies can operate seven flights a week to Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA), whereas they can operate 28 flights a week to other airports – after their completion – like Gautam Buddha International Airport and Pokhara Regional International Airport. Meanwhile, there is no restriction for cargo services. “The pact permits unrestricted cargo movement between the two countries besides third country code share with a provision for domestic code share,” the ministry informed.
The designated airline companies of Nepal can use any two intermediate points in South East Asia, South Asia and the Middle East for flight operations, according to the Tourism Ministry, “Likewise, any two points in New Zealand can also be used to operate flights.”
According to the ministry, one of the most important features of the agreement is the ‘principal place of business’ that normally facilitates foreign direct investment (FDI) instead of the traditional ‘principle of airline substantial ownership’ that is currently in practice.
A team led by Tourism Minister Yogesh Bhattarai had departed for ICAO headquarters in Montréal in Canada on September 20 to participate in the ICAO assembly. Nepal has already signed ASAs with a total of 39 countries across the world. However, flights are being operated to a very few destinations, including India, Dubai, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Thailand, Qatar and Japan. The ASA is expected to support Nepal Airlines Corporation as it has been trying to operate direct flights to Australia since very long.
Currently, NAC, Buddha Air and Himalaya Airlines are operating international flights from and to Nepal.

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