Nepal Airlines Corporation Delhi flights to be suspended till Oct end
NEW DELHI, JUN 06 -
Nepal Airlines Corporation, has extended flights suspension to New Delhi for another five months. The national flag carrier, which has already put on hold the flights to the Indian capital for nearly seven months, will not be flying until the last week of October 2012.
“We have received a circular from Kathmandu telling us to suspend the service till October,” said Sanjay Bikram Pant, manager at NAC’s Delhi office.
NAC has not divulged the reasons behind its decision. The carrier has only two aircraft for international operations, and they are kept busy flying to popular destinations for Nepali migrant workers like Doha, Dubai, Malaysia and Hong Kong.
With the flights suspended, NAC staffers at its Delhi office do not have much to do except take care of regular correspondence and pay bills. NAC has to pay a hefty rental for its check-in counter at Delhi International Airport even though it lies unused. The rental for the office and telephone, fax and electricity bills are quite high. NAC’s monthly expenses come to around Rs 3.2 million.
The NAC has 39 staffers at its two offices in New Delhi, one at Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGI) and the other in the city at Gole Market. Three of the employees have been deputed from Kathmandu while the rest are locals. Among the local staff are 26 Nepalis and 10 Indians.
The suspension of NAC’s Delhi service has been an opportunity for Indian carriers. Following the Kingfisher and Air India crises, other Indian airlines have been expanding their market share.
NAC shifted its city office from Janpath to Gole Market on June 1, 2011. It was forced to leave the Janpath office after the court gave a verdict in favour of Shristi Properties, the company which owns the house. NAC set up its office at Janpath in 1975. Though its 25-year lease agreement ended in 2000, NAC refused to vacate the place. Shristi Properties then moved the court and in 2011, after 11 years, the court ruled in favour of the house owner.
NAC appealed the decision but the upper court upheld the lower court’s decision and it was ordered to vacate the house within six months. NAC has now signed a nine-year lease agreement with the owner of its office building at Gole Market which will be renewed every three years. The carrier has to pay Rs 240,000 monthly including service tax. The rent will be increased by 15 percent every three years, according to the officials.
Source: The Kathmandu Post
