The Cabinet has given the go-ahead for the government to hold talks with India for negotiation on air service. The talks are scheduled on December 20 in New Delhi.

The Tourism Ministry has formed an eight-member panel under Joint Secretary Suresh Acharya for the purpose. The panel also includes representatives from the Tourism, Law and Foreign ministries, the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (Caan) and Nepal Airlines Corporation, officials said. 

Entry-exit points over Janakpur, Bhairahawa, Biratnagar, Nepalgunj and Onisha-Dhangadhi airspaces; redefining the Kathmandu-Mahendranagar-Delhi (L626) route as a bi-directional route and developing Trans-Himalaya 2 airspace are the three key items on the agenda, according to Acharya. “Besides, we will also be discussing on setting a joint search and rescue unit in the event of aircraft accidents as per the requirement of the International Civil Aviation Organization,” he said.

While five cross-border entry-exit routes will feature during the discussion, Acharya said, the focus will be on three routes—Janakpur, Nepalgunj and Onisha—considered important for airlines that will be operating from international airports that are under construction in Bhairahawa, Pokhara and Nijgadh. “We will be signing a memorandum of understanding if the negotiations are concluded on positive notes,” said Acharya. 

The objective of making L626 a bi-directional route is to extend it from Kathmandu to Kunming via Bagdogra-Guwahati-Imphal, India for making the proposed

Trans-Himalaya 2 airspace connecting Southeast Asia, the Middle East and Europe a reality.

Trans-Himalaya 2 airspace will be a moneymaking route for Nepal. If opened, it will provide the shortest way from China and the Far East to the Middle East and Europe. Implementation of this airspace will allow international airlines to fly over Nepali airspace, which means savings in fuel and distance for carriers and revenue for Nepal.

Nepal has been working on designating new cross-border airspaces for the last seven years. However, the plan has not been moving ahead due to poor aviation diplomacy. The planned negotiations have been postponed several times before.

The airspace agenda was endorsed during Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Nepal in August 2014. The prime ministers of the two countries had directed the concerned authorities to meet within six months to resolve the issue.