KATHMANDU, Nepal- Now onwards air passengers who are paying their airport taxes inside the domestic counter of the Nepal Airports need not have to worry about the long queues before the flights as Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN), the government body to regulate air services in the country is going to implement the provision to include airport taxes within the ticket cost with the beginning of new fiscal year that starts on July 16 this year.
According to the CAAN, the provision will come into effect at the domestic terminal of Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) in Kathmandu in the beginning and will be implemented all airports across the country shortly.
“The provision aimed at air passengers’ comfy and time and also to give the air passengers relief from long queue before departure,” Sanjim Gautam, CAAN Deputy Director General said, adding that the CAAN would receive the amount paid by passengers from the concerned airlines company. Gautam said that the CAAN has reached consensus with the airlines operators on the issue.
He, however, said that air passengers travelling from other than the TIA have to pay airport taxes at the respective counters in the airport for now. “But we will expand the provision to all the airports soon”.
Though the CAAN for few years now have provisioned to add the airport taxes in ticket cost for international passengers, domestic air passengers have to pay that separately in the airport counter.
According to the CAAN provision, each passenger has to pay Rs. 200 at TIA, Pokhara, Biratnagar, Nepaljung and airports at other big cities. But the rate varies in other small and remote airports. The airport tax for Simikot Airport of Humla and Rara of Mugu , for instance, is only Rs. 5.
Out of 51 airports across the country, 34 airports are in operation under the CAAN. While three airports are under construction, due to various reasons from lack of passenger to lack of proper structure remaining 14 are closed.
