CAAN suspends Thai AirAsia’s flight

Kathmandu, Oct 27: The Civil Aviation Authority Nepal (CAAN) has taken action against the Thai AirAsia, suspending all flights to Nepal.

However, the flight of the airline flown to Kathmandu from Thailand was finally allowed to land at the Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) after keeping it ‘on hold’ for around an hour in the sky, according to the aviation regulatory body.

Authority’s Information Officer Gyanendra Bhul confirmed that the CAAN had suspended all flights of the Thai AirAsia for the time being. The Airlines’ GSA (General Sales Agent) has been scrapped. Bhul further shared the flight permit for the Thai AirAsia was effective up to October 26 only. In this light, today’s flight has been permitted to operate as a ‘special chartered’ flight.

According to him, holding the plane for an extended period of time in the sky raises security concerns. “We allowed today’s flight to land considering the safety of the passengers and on humanitarian ground,” he explained. However, he clarified that all other flights of the same airlines have been suspended with the immediate effect. The flight will fly to Bangkok today itself with passengers, the TIA said.

This action came in the wake of the TIA implementing winter schedules for flights from today. The new flight schedule is valid from October 27, 2024 to March 31, 2025.