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Kathmandu,Monday April 17, 2000 Baishakh 05, 2057.
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IC flight talks soon
By a Post Reporter
KATHMANDU, April 16 - Nepalese Ambassador to India
Dr Bhekh Bahadur Thapa has expressed optimism that the Nepal-India negotiations on
resuming the Indian Airlines flights to Kathmandu will be completed within a few days.
"I expect the negotiation at the technical
level to come to an end within a few days," Thapa told The Kathmandu Post today in a
telephone interview from New Delhi.
According to him, the two sides will conform to
established international practices and conventions while deciding on the measures to be
taken at Tribhuvan International Airport in such areas as placements of the airplane
ladders, security check points, departure lounge and X-ray machines.
Most of the details were worked out during the
first leg of bilateral talks in Kathmandu early this month, said Thapa, adding the two
sides needed more time to conduct an in-depth study of the provisions laid out by ICAO
(International Civil Aviation Organization) for international airports.
Thapa said the closure of Indian Airlines flights
had inconvenienced both Nepal and India. "We also need to take into account the
public opinion while making provisions for a given airlines."
The first leg of talks between Indian and Nepali
civil aviation officials ended inconclusively early this month when Nepal declined the
Indian request to allow Indian Airlines officials to conduct a secondary X-ray check of
IA-bound cargo. Nepal has also refused to allow IA officials to conduct a pre-boarding
security check.
Indian Airlines stopped its Nepal operation after
the Christmas-eve hijacking of the Delhi-bound flight IC-814 shortly after it had left
Kathmandu. Nepal’s tourism industry has been a major victim since.
India maintains security lapses at TIA were
responsible for the hijacking.
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