Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) is expected to bring two new aircraft parking bays into operation by mid-March next year to ease traffic congestion that has been causing significant flight delays. 

The airport authority said that out of the four new parking bays under construction, two of them located at the eastern side of the runway are expected to come into operation within four months.

“These two bays can accommodate two wide-body aircraft like A330 and will function as remote parking bays,” said Raj Kumar Chettri, general manager of TIA.

He said that another two parking bays under construction at the southern side of the airport’s international terminal is expected to come into operation by mid-May next year. They can accommodate two wide-body aircraft. 

Although, the facilities at the southern side of the runway had been planned to be completed by mid-January, the works have been delayed, he said. 

The country’s sole international airport has been facing a severe crunch in aircraft parking space, leading to flight delays. The new parking bays are expected to significantly reduce congestion.

The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) has allocated more than Rs1 billion for the construction of the new parking bays.

The existing parking space at TIA can accommodate nine aircraft—three reserved for wide-body aircraft and the remaining for narrow-body aircraft. 

As Nepal Airlines Corporation added two new jets and private carrier Himalaya Airlines started service with three jets, ground congestion has become severe due to the lack of adequate infrastructure in the airport. The spillover effect of the congestion on the ground is being felt in the air as a large number of airlines are forced to circle the skies, waiting for their turn to land, according to airport authority. “If there are enough parking spaces on the ground, it will significantly cut down the delays caused by holding in the skies.”

There are 20 domestic airlines and 30 international airlines using the country’s sole international airport.

TIA handles more than 500 flights daily, including 100 by foreign carriers, during the peak travel period. This flight movement is double than that recorded five years ago. There are also plans to add nine more parking bays on the northern side of the airport under the TIA Air Transport Capacity Enhancement Project funded by the Asian Development Bank (ADB). The parking bays under the ADB project will be completed by 2020.

According to Chettri, TIA is also planning to install two new luggage conveyor belts at the international arrival area soon as the existing conveyor belts have not been able to process passenger luggage efficiently, forcing passengers to wait for hours to collect their baggage. Currently, there are four conveyor belts at the international arrival area. “We are also planning to add luggage conveyor belts at the domestic terminal building, as lack of such equipment has delayed baggage clearance service,” added Chettri.