The ban imposed by Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) on wide-body aircraft operated by international airlines flying into the Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) is a ploy to finish off the tourism sector of the country, said Western Regional Hotel Association (WRHA) on Tuesday.
Issuing a press release, WRHA demanded that CAAN withdraw its decision to put a ban on wide-body aircraft flying into TIA at the earliest, saying that such a move would only spell disaster for tourism business in Nepal.
The CAAN on Monday had asked all international carriers to find alternatives to their wide-body aircraft flying into Kathmandu citing repeated cracks on 46-year-old runway of TIA that has raised serious safety concerns.
Expressing serious objection to CAAN’s decision, the Hoteliers in the tourist pub of Pokhara also termed as “unfortunate” the drastic step taken by the Authority at the start of tourist and festive season in Nepal.
“We are very saddened by CAAN’s decision to put a ban wide-body aircraft flying into TIA. This move by the government and CAAN would destroy Nepal’s tourism industry of the country,” stated the WRHA press release, adding that this has also tainted the image of Nepal’s civil aviation sector internationally.
The hoteliers also warned that they would be compelled to wage a strong nationwide movement if CAAN doesn’t lift its ban on wide-body aircraft flying into TIA.
Meanwhile, bogged down by strong objections and reservations from travel trade businesses, the CAAN on Tuesday asked international airlines using wide-body aircraft whether they could adopt certain load restriction measures to prevent damages on the TIA runway.
