Nepal & Australia ink aviation accord

Kathmandu: Australia becomes the 40th country to sign an aviation agreement with Nepal. A bilateral agreement was signed by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) on Tuesday at the headquarters in Montreal, Canada.

According to Deputy Secretary and Information Officer of the Ministry of Tourism, Suresh Acharya, airlines on both sides will be able to fly seven flights of any kind.

Nepal’s designated airlines have agreed to fly all seven flights to Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, and Perth along with unlimited flights to other destinations. Similarly, the Australian side airlines will use only seven flights in Tribhuvan International Airport, Kathmandu and the remaining 28 will be used at Gautam Buddha International Airport in Pokhara, Bhairahawa.

The agreement was signed by Joint Secretary of the Ministry of Tourism Suresh Acharya and the executive director of the Federal Infrastructure, Transport, Urban and Regional Ministries of Australia, Jim Holf.

According to the agreement, airlines on both sides will be able to fly any kind of aircraft with their scheduled number of flights and cargo.

Acharya informed that airlines on both sides could use the fifth traffic right through intermediate points, using South Asia, South East Asia or any two points in the Middle East.