Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) was forced to halt the scheduled flight of Malaysian-based low-cost carrier Air Asia X for 40 minutes on Friday after it deferred payment of its dues totalling Rs220 million, airport officials said.

In March, the carrier which owes TIA Rs270 million in fees and Rs130 million in fines had committed to pay Rs55 million on installment basis each month. In last five months, the carrier has settled dues amounting to Rs180 million and still owes Rs220 million.

“As the carrier deferred payment, we were forced to halt its scheduled flight for 40 minutes on Friday,” said Raj Kumar Chettri, general manager of TIA.

“The flight was released after Air Asia committed to pay Rs55 million as an installment by Thursday,” he said. “If the carrier fails to abide with its commitment, we will halt its flight again.”

As per the Airport Service Charge Regulation, if an airline fails to pay its dues by the stipulated time, there is a provision for charging a penalty of 5 percent for 15 days, 15 percent for 16-30 days and 30 percent for the rest of the period. TIA’s revenues come from passenger service charge, airport development tax, landing and parking fees, rentals, housing and cargo, and among others. Air Asia entered the Nepali market in June 2012 with two weekly flights.

Meanwhile, Saurya Airlines—a domestic carrier, that had been defaulting on TIA landing and parking fee for a long time paid Rs6.9 million, said Chettri. “The carrier which still owes Rs18 million has committed to pay soon,” he said.

Carrier to suspend Nepal flights

KATHMANDU: Malaysian-based low-cost carrier Air Asia X has decided to temporarily suspend its flight beginning this October, according to Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA).

The airport authority said that it will be suspending its Nepal flight from October 13 for one year due to low passenger traffic following the Nepal government’s crackdown on various agencies that were involved in charging hefty fees on Nepal migrant workers, which resulted in a complete shutdown of their migration to Malaysia. (PR)