Outpour of relief clogging Kathmandu airport

 Nepal has stopped allowing unscheduled relief flights by Indian commercial airlines as the huge amount of relief and rescue material is causing clogging of the Tribhuvan International Airport, officials said on Thursday.

"The Nepalese government has turned down unscheduled relief flights from Indian airlines as global outpouring of relief and rescue efforts have clogged the Kathmandu airport leading to unmanageable heavy air traffic," said Anuj Jasra, head, corporate communications, SpiceJet.

Jasra said one of the reasons for this development could be the preference of most global airlines to reach Nepal via India.

Indira Gandhi International Airport is well equipped and can handle such kind of traffic, while Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu is old and not as well equipped as Delhi airport, added Jasra.

Nepal is receiving many chartered flights for relief operations and countries as far away as Finland are also pitching in, said Jasra.

Evacuation flights outnumber the relief flights, said Jasra. He said many tourists and mountaineering enthusiasts from across the world flock to Nepal in April every year to enjoy the Himalayas and Mt. Everest.

Despite the rejection of unscheduled relief flights from Indian airlines, scheduled flights are still flying relief material, volunteers, doctors and rescuers to Nepal.

Indian airlines appealed to the Indian government to convince the Nepalese government to accept unscheduled relief flights from India, informed sources said.

Air India is operating four daily flights to Nepal from Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata and Varanasi.

Jet Airways is operating two flights to Kathmandu, SpiceJet is operating two flights and Indigo one.