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Talks On Bilateral Air Service Agreement Postponed
By KTM Metro Reporter
October 24, 2013: the proposed talks to revise the bilateral air service agreement (ASA) between Nepal and China has been postponed on the request of the Chinese officials on Wednesday referring to some technical problems, according to the Nepalese government officials, Xinhua news agency reports.
Earlier, the date for the revision was set for Oct. 24-25. A scheduled trip of a 17-member Chinese delegation to Nepal to sign the agreement also has been canceled.
"The agreement has been postponed for now following the request from Civil Aviation Administration of China," Suresh Acharya, joint secretary to the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation (MoCTCA), told Xinhua. However, he said the Chinese side has not mentioned anything about the next date for signing the agreement.
"We had initiated the process for revising ASA with China following its request and we also agreed to postpone the date for the pact following its request," Acharya added.
Concerned stakeholders and ministry officials however are of the opinion that the Nepalese government should request the Chinese government to set a new date for ASA at the earliest to benefit from the growing number of Chinese tourists flying to Nepal.
Currently, three Chinese carriers such as Air China, China Southern Airlines and China Eastern Airlines have been operating flights between Nepal and China, and a new carrier from China has expressed interest in operating flights to Nepal, according to the MoCTCA source.
"At a time, when a Chinese airlines company is willing to expand its service to Nepal, the Nepalese government should request the northern neighbor for the agreement," a source at the ministry told Xinhua.
Government statistics showed a growing trend of Chinese tourists arriving in Nepal. As per MoCTCA, Nepal recorded 85,832 Chinese tourists last year, which accounted for more than 10 percent of the total foreign tourists arriving in Nepal in 2012.
According to the Nepal Tourism Board (NTB), Chinese tourists arriving via air in Nepal increased by 24.2 percent to 38,767 in the first eight months of this year. Chinese tourists hold a 10.5 percent market share in Nepal after India.
Moreover, Air China, China Eastern and China Southern observed a passenger occupancy growth of 35.92 percent to 82,470 in the first six months of 2013.
The existing ASA between the two countries allows Chinese airlines to operate 14 flights per week. The two countries signed the ASA in 2003 and Air China opened a direct air link between China and Nepal in 2004.
