COVID-19 hits aviation sector; passengers down by 60%

KATHMANDU: The spring season, the peak season for Nepal’s tourism, has already started but still there are no passengers.

It has forced the airlines and air transport operators to slash the airfare by almost 50 percent.

Airlines Operators Association of Nepal (AOAN) said it has been forced to reduce the number of flight movements.

“The number of tourists has gone down significantly due to the spread of coronavirus, putting the aviation sector at jeopardy,” said Yograj Kandel Sharma, spokesperson of the AOAN.

Sharma further said that the number of air passengers has gone down by 60 percent these days after the countries directed their citizens not to travel abroad due to coronavirus.

Around this time last year, 30 helicopters had operated flights for 90 hours under the rotor wing but this time it has come down to six hours due to the lack of passengers, added Sharma.