From Wednesday, domestic air travellers will be saved the bother of standing in line to pay airport tax before check-in as it will be included in the price of the ticket. The system is being implemented nationwide after its success in Kathmandu where it has been in effect since July 16.

All private airlines will be adding the passenger service charge (PSC) to the cost of the ticket ending the system of paying it at the airport bank counter. The national flag carrier Nepal Airlines Corporation (NAC), however, is still undecided about moving with the times.

“Although the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) had given us a Jan 15 deadline, we started the system a few weeks ago,” said Rupesh Joshi, executive manager at Buddha Air.

The amount of the airport tax depends on the length of the flight. The fee on all domestic routes from Kathmandu is Rs 200. Some airports on remote sectors like Simikot-Nepalgunj charge only Rs 5. “With this system, queues will be shorter at the airport and it will also reduce hassles,” Joshi added.

Similarly, Bhim Raj Rai, airport service manager of Yeti Airlines, said they had already implemented the system. “Besides reducing hassles for passengers, it has also relieved airlines of the task of collecting the tax at airports where there are no banks.”

With the implementation of the new system, CAAN has also changed the procedure for airlines to deposit airport tax. Earlier, carriers had to deposit a month’s projected airport tax in CAAN’s bank account as a security deposit based on the capacity of their aircraft. Under the new provision, airlines are required to deposit 15 days’ airport tax.  

NAC is not affiliated with the system. NAC Spokesperson Ganesh Bahadur Chand said they were still undecided about the system as it has been issuing manual tickets. The PSC system was implemented at all international airlines five years ago.

E-ticketing at NAC by Jan-end

KATHMANDU: Nepal Airlines Corporation (NAC) has said that it will be introducing e-ticketing on the domestic sector by the end of January. According to NAC Spokesperson Ganesh Bahadur Chand, they are currently working on the e-ticketing system as they plan to bring six new aircraft from China. “We are working on the e-ticketing system. After that, we will implement the system of including the passenger service charge in the price of the ticket on all sectors.