Nepal and India made little progress at the highly anticipated air route talks held in Mumbai, India last week. Nepal has been badgering the southern neighbour to grant air entry points through the L626 Mahendranagar route and Nepalgunj to facilitate aircraft movement to the two upcoming international airports in Bhairahawa and Pokhara.
As a follow-up, high-level Nepali and Indian teams met during the two-day Global Aviation Summit held in Mumbai. Officials claimed making great progress, but little was achieved, according to people close to the discussions.
“As always, the Indian side convinced the Nepali delegation that it was positive about opening up the air entry points to Nepal,” a source privy to the matter said. “The Indian delegation said that they were trying to study the feasibility of the entry points Nepal has sought.”
According to Indian daily The Hindu, India’s Ministry of Civil Aviation has agreed in principle to grant air entry points through the L626 route in Mahendranagar. It said that pilgrims headed to Kailash Manasarovar from New Delhi would now be able to fly directly to one of the key entry points at Nepalgunj, and avoid the 11-hour drive from Kathmandu.
Director general of the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal Sanjiv Gautam, who met Indian civil aviation officials on the sidelines of the meeting, confirmed the development. “But until we receive confirmation in writing, we cannot say anything.”
This route is unworkable for the international airport in Bhairahawa as it only permits entry to low-level flights (below 24,000 feet). This is good for small planes like the ATR, but not large jets that are expected to use the new airports. During various discussions over the past years, India has reportedly ‘denied’ granting an entry point through Mahendranagar due to heavy traffic in Indian airspace.
Another development in Mumbai is the Bravo 345 route (currently Kathmandu-Bhairahawa-Lucknow) passing through the airspace over Bhairahawa. According to Gautam, Indian authorities said that they were in the final stage of making the route bi-directional. The Indian side has sent the new specified route proposal to the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), but that too will not work for Gautam Buddha International Airport in Bhairahawa which is expected to be completed this year, he said.
22/01/19 Eleven
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As a follow-up, high-level Nepali and Indian teams met during the two-day Global Aviation Summit held in Mumbai. Officials claimed making great progress, but little was achieved, according to people close to the discussions.
“As always, the Indian side convinced the Nepali delegation that it was positive about opening up the air entry points to Nepal,” a source privy to the matter said. “The Indian delegation said that they were trying to study the feasibility of the entry points Nepal has sought.”
According to Indian daily The Hindu, India’s Ministry of Civil Aviation has agreed in principle to grant air entry points through the L626 route in Mahendranagar. It said that pilgrims headed to Kailash Manasarovar from New Delhi would now be able to fly directly to one of the key entry points at Nepalgunj, and avoid the 11-hour drive from Kathmandu.
Director general of the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal Sanjiv Gautam, who met Indian civil aviation officials on the sidelines of the meeting, confirmed the development. “But until we receive confirmation in writing, we cannot say anything.”
This route is unworkable for the international airport in Bhairahawa as it only permits entry to low-level flights (below 24,000 feet). This is good for small planes like the ATR, but not large jets that are expected to use the new airports. During various discussions over the past years, India has reportedly ‘denied’ granting an entry point through Mahendranagar due to heavy traffic in Indian airspace.
Another development in Mumbai is the Bravo 345 route (currently Kathmandu-Bhairahawa-Lucknow) passing through the airspace over Bhairahawa. According to Gautam, Indian authorities said that they were in the final stage of making the route bi-directional. The Indian side has sent the new specified route proposal to the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), but that too will not work for Gautam Buddha International Airport in Bhairahawa which is expected to be completed this year, he said.
22/01/19 Eleven
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