Poor air service detracts charm from Nepal’s Arcadia

The pure blue in the sky over Talcha Airport in Mugu District is heartbreaking blue for some travelers avid for aviating to leave this Nepal’s northwestern district adjacent to Tibet.

In a hotel just a stone’s throw from the small airport last week, Xinhua surprisingly told few locals killing time there that a woman with a flight ticket had waited for a whole week still failing aboard, they answered that they met passengers detained here for nine or ten days.

Airplane is the only vehicle to leave here for southern cities such as Nepalgunj bordering India via which to the capital Kathmandu. As a result, the business of the sub-standard hotel in the lonely Mugu Village Development Committee with about 90 households is booming, although it is unable to supply hot water and room for taking a bath for its customers.

At the same time, it is told that the manager of the hotel has become anxious passengers’ blue-eyed boy who can pull their chestnuts out of the fire early by back-door dealing. Stranded at Talcha Airport for one or two days, tourists will understand that bribery is rife in such a place far from the madding crowd with a game rule that the more you pay, the better relation you have, the easier you go aboard.

Brish Bdv Shahi, working for the local government told Xinhua, concerned government departments do not care about passengers; they should be blamed for the silent suffering. To verify his argument, Xinhua tried to interview the person in charge of Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal Rara who refused, saying not having the time.

Evidently it is not easy even for a small aircraft to take off and land at the full-graveled air-trip surrounded by mountains. The wreckage of two aircrafts in tandem hulking up on the outskirts of the airpark without any corral is a harbinger of the dangerousness of traveling by air in mountainous districts of Nepal.

Tourists thrown into limbo due to the lack of flights, however, want to know since airlines can operate four or five flights a day with good weather conditions, why do they not expand their operation in such days?

The following question is where new aircrafts are. Lokendra Bista Magar, Nepal’s Minister for Tourism and Civil Aviation was asked by lawmakers this January whether “Visit Lumbini Year 2012” will be the same like “Visit Nepal Year 2011,” as about 21 ministers had pledged to add aircraft for the Nepal Airline Cooperation, the national flag carrier, but none came.Just like some two months ago, the minister last week promised to resume flights to airports in the hilly districts of far-western regions within a week, but air service to Doti district has not resumed this week and those travelers still have to stand the gaff. Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal said early this month that it is planning to reopen eight domestic airports in the remote areas due to growing demand. It is good, but passengers cannot repose their hope in castles in the air.

To attract more tourists abroad, Nepal often trumpets, “Naturally Nepal, Once is not Enough”. It is true. Every tourist enjoys Nepal’s biggest lakeRara Lake like a poetry with marvelous beauty and from which to Talcha Airport only about 2.5 hours walk, but everyone abhors awaiting at the airport a 30-minute air-hop for three days throwing a complete gaff into his travel plan.

For those willingly to trek where rare tourists have trekked, behold what rare tourists eye has seen before in Nepal’s remote western districts, only to suffer much painful boomeranging, once is too many. They would just say, “Let us flee this dammed place as soon as possible!”

(This article was released by Xinhua on April 19, 2012.)