Govt asks Singapore to retain SIA flights

By Satyendra Timilsina
Kathmandu Post Report
KATHMANDU, May 16

With less than two weeks now remaining for the announced pull-out of Singapore Airlines (SIA) from the Kathmandu sector, the Nepali government is requesting the Singapore government to put pressure on SIA to retain the route.

"We have sent a letter to the government of Singapore requesting them to ask SIA to revise their decision," said Birendra Bahadur Deuja, Secretary at the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Civil Aviation. "We will try our best to retain SIA," he added.

Two weeks ago, SIA announced its intention to suspend its Kathmandu flights from May 31 on grounds that the carrier could not meet the operational costs due to heavy decline in the number of incoming passengers.

The SIA has regularly been operating its Singapore-Kathmandu flights since its first flight on July 16, 1987. During its 15 years of service, the number of flights ranged between one flight to a maximum of four flights per week.

After the decision of the SIA to withhold their Kathmandu flights, tourism entrepreneurs have constantly asked the government to make necessary arrangements to change the SIA decision. "SIA’s pull-out will not just affect the number incoming tourists into this country, but also worsen the already damaged image of the country," they said.

"SIA could not continue its flights to Kathmandu as the operational cost here is higher among the countries of Indian subcontinent," said Lawrence Liew, the airlines’ General Manager in Nepal. The inconsistent government policy has also affected the business in Nepal, he added. "The policy looks like killing a goose laying golden eggs at once."

However, Deuja argued that contrary to what international airlines claim, operating costs to Kathmandu are not high at all. "Compared to Singapore where it costs US$ 4000 per flight for ground handling, in Kathmandu it costs just US$ 2400," he said.

The government collects more than Rs 24 million annually from SIA alone. This has been supplemented by an additional US$ 902 as a landing charge and US$ 305 as a navigation charge per flight.

SIA is the third international carrier to suspend flights to Kathmandu in recent years. Earlier Aeroflot, the Russian National flag carrier, pulled out in February last year. The Russian airlines had withdrawn its regular passenger flights stating that it incurred losses in the flights to the Nepali capital. Even earlier, in 1997, the German carrier Lufthansa cancelled scheduled services to Kathmandu citing similar reasons.

s Upon query, Liew said that SIA might resume its flights as soon as tourism industry begins to revive and tourist arrivals go up. "We should not dismiss the possibility of resuming flights," he said adding that they have to be assured that their operational cost would be reduced.