587 Nepalis flying to Hong Kong on Monday bought tickets worth Rs 35,000 for Rs 1 lakh

Out of 1400 Nepalis with Hong Kong ID but stranded in Nepal due to lockdown, 587 are returning to Hong Kong on Monday night on three Nepal Airlines flights. 

According to Devendra KC, general manager of Tribhuvan International Airport, two narrowbody and one widebody aircraft of the corporation will fly to Hong Kong at 8:30 pm on Monday at one-hour intervals. "All three ships are full," a senior official of the corporation told Kantipur.

Two narrowbodies will carry 310 passengers at a rate of 155 and one widebody will carry 273 passengers. There are also 5 infants under 21 months of age.

Tika Gurung, president of the Hong Kong-based Non-Resident Nepali Association, said that these Nepalis are returning home after paying Rs 85,000 to Rs 100,000 on the one-way route from Kathmandu to Hong Kong, which is sold for Rs 35,000. She said that students, workers and Nepalis with Hong Kong visa and ID who came to Nepal before Chait are about to return.

Apart from Kathmandu and Lalitpur, passengers from Kathmandu, Lalitpur, Jhapa, Dharan, Sunsari, Chitwan, Bhairahawa, Pokhara, Tanahu, Myagdi and other districts had arrived at the airport at 8 am on Monday. It is seen that there are 1400 Chanchun in Nepal. About 600 of them are scheduled to return on Monday, 'said Gurung, who hails from Pokhara.

Stating that one-way tickets sold at Rs 35,000 had to be bought at exorbitant prices from agents, Gurung complained that the Government of Nepal and the Ministry of Tourism did not have any regulation. "Those who go to Widebody have bought tickets for Rs 100,000 and those who go to Narrowbody have bought tickets for Rs 85,000," said Gurung.

Earlier, Himalayan Airlines had agreed to take these Nepalis who want to return to Hong Kong to Rs 65,000 on May 25. However, passengers had to choose the corporation's ship as the Himalayas did not get permission from Hong Kong. The corporation has chartered a ticket-selling agent on the condition that it pays narrowbody ८ 8,700 per hour and widebody १८ 18,000.

Apart from earning income by selling expensive tickets to passengers, ticket selling agents also get 5 percent commission from the corporation on the total turnover.

This is the first flight to Hong Kong in 77 days since the lockdown began.