Civil aviation is poised to expand and develop in Nepal, the National News Agency RSS reported on Sunday.

According to statistics from the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN), over 1 million passengers have traveled by domestic air services and 127,000 passengers by international air service in the first 11 months of 2005.

The number of passengers traveling by domestic air service increased by 17 percent compared to the previous year and earned a revenue of about 1.40 billion Nepali rupees (20 million U.S. dollars).

Development of air services in Nepal is important for the transportation, tourism and overall economic development of Nepal, a land-locked country.

According to the CAAN, Nepal has signed air service agreements with 35 countries in recent years with the adoption of the open sky policy by the government and the international airlines have begun to expand their operations in the country.

Similarly, Royal Nepal Airlines Corporation, the national flag carrier, and airline companies operated by the private sector have been providing air services to the people of the remote areas from the 51 airports in the country.

However, a tendency has been seen among the private airline companies to operate flights only in the urban sector with greater prospects for income.

Therefor, the CAAN has to play an active role in making the air services of the country more reliable.

Source: Xinhua