It has been a while since the suspension of the domestic flights was operated. The decision to resume the operation of domestic flights along with the resumption og international flights was fismissed and was extended till Bhadra 31. The operators of domestic airlines who have been preparing for the safe flights for months were very much disappointed and dissatisfied with this decision of government. However Airlines operator Association has already urged the government to resume the domestic transportation as soon as possible but it looks like the government wants to stick with its decision. One of the very reason behind it might be the ongoing lockdown as traveling is banned, only the ones with special permission can travel from one district to another. The cabinet meeting for the decision regarding the extension or to end the ongoing lockdown which ends today at midnight is yet to come, so is the decision regarding the operation of domestic flights in Nepal. While the decision of the lockdown might come soon but the decision regarding the resumption of domestic flights is still unknown.
While the domestic flights are banned, many people who need to travel from one district to another with emergency purposes has been using road transportation by using private vehicles which might be less safer than the flights. Domestic flights in Nepal might be one of the safest means of traveling at present. The domestic airlines has been preparing for the safe flight from months by using all the safety and health protocols from the start to the end, from the baggage collection to the destination and throughout the flight. There will be use of masks, sanitizer, social distancing and everything that is required to conduct the safe flight. Buddha Air has already conducted a test flight to prepare for the safe flights and to make sure everything is under control and there are no loopholes during the actual flights. Like Buddha Air, many airlines are already ready to operate the flights by following all the safety guidelines as mentioned by the government of Nepal. Well, it might seem unsafe with a lot of people on a single flight but everyone who will be traveling through these flights will have to submit a PCR negative report which us 72 hour prior to the flight. So only the passengers who are not infected with the virus can board to the plane. Not only the passengers, the staffs working at the airport from ground level to the cabin crew, everyone should submit a PCR negative report, so it is pretty much safe out there.
Apart from that, the domestic airlines has been suspended for over six months now and they have suffered a huge loss throughout this period. If the situation goes on like this and government keeps on extending the suspension of domestic flights then many of them might go bankrupt and might shut down. The staffs of these carriers have been at home and jobless for months now, if the suspension still extends many might go broke. So the suspension of these flights are not only affecting the operators but also fro many workers and staffs. On the other hand, if the international flights can be operated then why not domestic flights too, well I don’t find much of a difference in that. The flights can be operated to only safe destinations of Nepal, so that way there is no problem in operating these flights.
With the huge losses in the domestic airlines sectors, the suspension of these flights will only do harm in coming days. On top of that, domestic flights might be one of the safest means to travel for long distance as compared to the other means of transportation. In fact, it is very much important to resume the operation of domestic airlines as soon as possible which might help them to slowly r cover their losses before they are completely broke. With proper health and safety guidelines and flight being operated only to the safe destinations , there seems to be no problem for the resumption of domestic flights. As far as the lockdown is concerned, it may have done its bits but there are several negative impacts of lockdown which has harmed not only the economic sectors but the lives of many people. So government should urgently find an optimal way to face these problems because lockdown is not the solution to fight the Covid-19 breakdown. It has harmed a lot than it has saved which makes it a huge problem for different sectors and the citizen of the nation.
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