Nepal’s aviation industry lost more than Rs 23 billion because of pandemic: CAAN

According to the CAAN, the domestic aviation sector lost a total of Rs 23.31 billion in revenue between March and November. Of the total loss, Nepal Airlines Corporation (NAC) lost Rs 5 billion while all other domestic airline companies lost Rs 10.62 billion. Meanwhile, Himalayan Airlines lost Rs 2 billion and CAAN itself lost around Rs 5.69 billion during the pandemic. As per the authority, it lost Rs 2.63 billion in income from headings such as ground handling and shop rentals. Meanwhile, Rs 1.37 billion was lost towards income from airport development charge. Similarly, Rs 1.69 billion was lost in miscellaneous income. CAAN Director General Rajan Pokhrel said that the industry lost about 65% passengers in the domestic sector and about 72% in international compared to the corresponding period of 2019. “This pandemic has also heavily affected our major infrastructure projects and other development works,” he said. During this period, international aircraft movement slumped by 74.08% while domestic aircraft movement fell by 65.71%. Pokhrel further said that the civil aviation sector was in serious crisis due to the pandemic but that the situation is gradually improving. “Against the backdrop of the pandemic, our priority today is to ensure safety of travelling public and personnel involved in aviation operations to the extent possible,” he said. CAAN marked its 22nd nniversary in the presence of the newly-appointed Tourism Minister Bhanu Bhakta Dhakal and Tourism Secretary Yadav Prasad Koirala.