KATHMANDU: Like every other sector, the aviation sector has also suffered as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The lockdown imposed since the last week of March led to the shutdown of aviation service for a long time, including international flights.
International flights resumed on August 1 and domestic flights since September 25.
As a result, the number of air passenger’s arrival plummeted in 2020. In the first nine months of the year, only 927,208 people landed in Kathmandu via international flights, according to the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN).
The number in the same period of 2019 was 4.9 million footfalls. It was 4.3 million in 2018 and 3.8 million in 2017.
Likewise, in the domestic sector, the number until September this year is 78,040. Whereas, in the same period in 2019, the number was 3.1 million. It was 2.8 million in 2018 and 2.4 million in 2017.
It may be noted that the government had announced 2020 as a Visit Nepal Year, with a target to bring in 2 million tourists into the country. However, it had to be called off due to the coronavirus pandemic.
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